On Thursday local time, humanoid robot startup Figure announced that it has raised approximately $675 million in funds from giants such as Amazon founders Bezos, Nvidia, OpenAI, and Microsoft, bringing its valuation to $2.6 billion.
In addition, as part of the agreement, Figure will also collaborate with OpenAI to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) model for the next generation of humanoid robots, and will use Microsoft's Azure cloud services to build AI infrastructure and store data.
Brett Adcock, founder and CEO of Figure, stated that the company will use the funds to develop large language models for robots, expand production scale, and hire more employees.
It is reported that the artificial intelligence model developed by Figure will be based on OpenAI's latest GPT model and specifically trained on the robot action data collected by Figure, so that its humanoid robot can talk to people, see things, and perform complex tasks.
Peter Welnder, Vice President of Products and Collaboration at OpenAI, said, "We have been planning to return to the field of robotics technology, and we have seen a path of collaboration with Figure, which is to explore what achievements humanoid robots can achieve under the drive of high-performance large models."
Figure was born in January 2022 in Silicon Valley, USA, dedicated to developing humanoid robots that can perform dangerous and unpopular tasks. Its first humanoid robot was named Figure 01 and demonstrated its walking ability in November 2023, with its appearance and movements resembling those of humans.
The company believes that its robots will be used in manufacturing, shipping and logistics, warehousing and retail industries, as labor shortages are most severe in these areas, and claims that they are not intended for military or defense purposes.
Earlier this week, Figure released a video showcasing the operation of Figure 01. This robot walked up to a pile of plastic boxes, picked up one of them accurately with its hands, transported it to a few meters away, and finally placed the box on the conveyor belt. Throughout the entire process, Figure 01 trembled and felt a bit like an old lady crossing the road, but the task was successfully completed.
The ultimate goal of the Figure company is to enable Figure 01 to autonomously perform "daily tasks". The company stated that to achieve this goal, it needs to develop more powerful artificial intelligence systems.
Broad prospects
Meanwhile, numerous companies are competing to turn humanoid robots into reality. Agility Robotics, supported by Amazon, plans to build a factory that can produce up to 10000 humanoid bipedal robots, the Digit, with current operating costs of approximately $10 to $12 per hour.
Tesla's Optimus robots are even more famous, and Musk predicts that by the 1940s, there will be 1 billion humanoid robots on Earth. Boston Dynamics has developed several models, and 1X Technologies recently raised $100 million in funding with support from OpenAI.
This market is still in its early stages. Goldman Sachs analysts predict that by 2035, the humanoid robot market will reach $38 billion, and it is expected that by 2030, the shipment volume of humanoid robots will exceed 250000 units.
Tom Andersson, co-founder and chief analyst of STIQ, said, "We are currently in the early stages of developing a strong interest in humanoid robots, and I believe this situation will continue for some time." He added that before widespread promotion, "some significant technological changes need to occur.".
Humanoid robots require expensive components such as actuators, motors, and sensors. Goldman Sachs researchers say that these costs are expected to decrease in the coming years, and they point out that these costs have dropped from $50000 to $250000 per set last year to $30000 to $150000 per set.