Figure AI Secures Series B Funding: Why Do Tech Giants Love It?
There is perhaps no other startup that has garnered as much attention from tech giants as Figure AI. In its recent Series B funding round, the robot startup attracted almost all heavyweight investors, including Intel, Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, Microsoft, and OpenAI. So, why is Figure AI so favored by the industry giants?
Recently, Figure AI announced that it has raised $675 million in its Series B funding, bringing its valuation to $2.6 billion. In addition to the aforementioned tech giants, the investors also include venture capital firms such as Ark Capital, Align Ventures, and Parkway Venture Capital.
Furthermore, Figure AI has seized the opportunity of this fundraising round to enter into a cooperation agreement with OpenAI. They plan to combine OpenAI’s research achievements with Figure AI’s accumulated expertise in the field of robotics to develop AI models for humanoid robots. The company claims that this collaboration will enhance the robots’ capabilities in language processing and reasoning, thereby accelerating their commercialization.
Microsoft is also supporting Figure AI by providing various functionalities of its cloud computing platform, Azure, to expedite the deployment of humanoid robots in real-world tasks.
Establishing humanoid robots in less than a year to alleviate labor shortages
So, who exactly is this robot startup that has caught the attention of tech giants? Figure AI was founded in 2022, and its team consists of AI and robotics experts from companies such as Boston Dynamics, Tesla, DeepMind, and Archer Aviation.
Founder Brett Adcock is a serial entrepreneur who, prior to his involvement with Figure AI, had founded the human resources company Vettery and the flying taxi company Archer Aviation. At first glance, these ventures may seem unrelated, but what Adcock is pursuing with Figure AI is the culmination of his past experiences – using machine technology to solve labor-related issues.
Adcock wasted no time, and in March 2023, just under a year after its establishment, Figure AI unveiled its humanoid robot, Figure 01. Its appearance and movements are designed to mimic humans, and it is expected to be used in sectors such as manufacturing, transportation, logistics, and warehousing to help alleviate labor shortages in these industries.
“Current humanoid robots can only perform stunts or serve as mere displays,” Adcock said. “We want to break this mold and prove that humanoid robots can be highly useful.”
The company announced a partnership with BMW in January this year, intending to introduce humanoid robots into car factories to handle difficult, unsafe, and tedious tasks. This allows employees to focus on skills and processes that cannot be automated, thus enhancing production efficiency and workplace safety.
Just a few days before announcing the completion of its Series B funding, Figure AI released a video showcasing Figure 01 once again. In the less than 1.5-minute video, the robot picks up a blue plastic box and places it on a conveyor belt on the production line, claiming that its current work efficiency is about 16.7% lower than that of humans. In another earlier video, the robot demonstrates how it operates a coffee machine to brew a hot cup of coffee, although it still requires human assistance in placing the cup in position.
Figure AI aims for its robots to autonomously perform more routine tasks in the future, which will require the assistance of AI technology, hence the deep collaboration with OpenAI.
Exploring the integration of AI and robots, OpenAI continues its investment efforts
In the over-a-year-long AI frenzy in the tech world, generative AI has developed at an unprecedented speed. However, regardless of how advanced AI models become, they still need a physical embodiment to go beyond screens. For tech companies, this is also an extension of their investments in AI technology.
“We have always planned to return to robotics technology,” said Peter Welinder, Vice President of Product and Partnerships at OpenAI. “Figure shows us the possibilities that humanoid robots combined with powerful multimodal models can open up.” It is worth noting that this is not OpenAI’s first investment in a robotics company; they previously invested in Norwegian robotics startup 1X Technologies in March last year.
According to Bloomberg, the field of robotics has been quite lively lately. In addition to Figure and 1X, Sanctuary AI in Vancouver is also developing a humanoid robot called Phoenix, and Tesla’s robot, Optimus, which Musk claims is one of his most important projects, is expected to debut as early as 2025.
Sources:
CNBC, Fast Company, Bloomberg
Proofread by: Gao Jingyuan