Humanoid Robot Startup Figure Raises $675 Million Funding From Jeff Bezos, NVIDIA, Microsoft And More!

Artificial intelligence (AI) has grown tremendously in the last few years and has enhanced many processes, be that production or creation related.

Moreover, this has also improved the functioning of other technologies like automation, autonomous vehicles or robotics.

Such machines have made it possible to ease the burden on humans by carrying out manual functions entirely or aiding them through assistance. Additionally, they offer the option of performing tasks that could be dangerous, harmful or undesirable to humans.

Benefits like these have brought about a rise of interest in companies that produce such robots.

It’s a similar case with Figure, a startup building humanoid robots, which has seen it come out with some exciting news.

So, what did Figure announce? Let’s explore!
 

What Was Announced?

 

• Figure, an AI robotics company developing general purpose humanoid robots, announced it managed to raise $675 million in a Series B funding round at a valuation of $2.6 billion. 

• The investing companies for this included Microsoft, OpenAI Startup Fund, NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions), Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Align Ventures and ARK Invest.

• “Expand human capabilities through advanced AI” is what Figure’s mission reads on its website.

• The announcement read, “This new capital will be used strategically for scaling up AI training, robot manufacturing, expanding engineering headcount, and advancing commercial deployment efforts.”

• The promise from this statement highlights the increase in commercial interest from technology businesses.

• The investment will help Figure accelerate its timeline for an AI-driven humanoid robot.

• Figure will also collaborate with OpenAI to develop next generation AI models for humanoid robots, with the aim to “accelerate Figure's commercial timeline by enhancing the capabilities of humanoid robots to process and reason from language.”

• Ahead of this, Figure will leverage Microsoft Azure for AI infrastructure, training, and storage.

• Figures’ team, which consists of AI robotics experts from Boston Dynamics, Tesla, Google DeepMind and Archer Aviation, has seen great progress in the past few months in areas such as AI, robot development, robot testing and commercialization.

 

What Did Stakeholders Say?

 

• Brett Adcock, Founder and CEO of Figure, said, “Our vision at Figure is to bring humanoid robots into commercial operations as soon as possible. This investment, combined with our partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft, ensures that we are well-prepared to bring embodied AI into the world to make a transformative impact on humanity ... AI and robotics are the future, and I am grateful to have the support of investors and partners who believe in being at the forefront.” 

• Peter Welinder, VP of Product and Partnerships at OpenAI, said, “We've always planned to come back to robotics and we see a path with Figure to explore what humanoid robots can achieve when powered by highly capable multimodal models. We're blown away by Figure's progress to date and we look forward to working together to open up new possibilities for how robots can help in everyday life.”

• Jon Tinter, Corporate VP of Business Development at Microsoft, said, “We are excited to collaborate with Figure and work towards accelerating AI breakthroughs. Through our work together, Figure will have access to Microsoft's AI infrastructure and services to support the deployment of humanoid robots to assist people with real world applications.”

Do you think Figure is set to lead the robotics industry with this latest round of funding? Do you think rival companies should consider investing in other robotic companies to keep competition alive?

Let us know in the comments below!