U.S. startup Figure raises $70 million to build universal humanoid robot

IT House reported on May 24 that an American artificial intelligence startup called Figure recently announced that it had received US$70 million in investment led by Parkway Venture Capital (IT House note: currently about 494 million yuan) ’s first round of external financing to build a universal humanoid robot.

Picture source Pixabay

The company has received funding to accelerate development and manufacturing of the first autonomous humanoid robot expected to be launched in the coming months. The company, which is less than a year old and has not disclosed its valuation, is valued at more than $400 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Figure founder and CEO Brett Adcock personally invested $20 million, and other investors include Aliya Capital and Bold Ventures.

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Figure’s goal is to develop general-purpose humanoid robots that can work in different environments and handle a variety of tasks, from warehousing to retail. The company said it is currently in discussions with retailers about commercialization opportunities. Adcock, a former co-founder of Archer Aviation, said Figure differs from other robotics companies like Boston Dynamics and Amazon Robotics by developing robots that can handle general-purpose tasks and ultimately learn and interact with their environment.

Adcock said: General-purpose humanoid robots have greater development potential than single-function robots. Deploying them into the labor market can help address labor shortages and, over time, eliminate insecure and undesirable jobs. ”

Tech giants and start-ups are competing to develop next-generation robots with high commercial value. For example, Tesla unveiled a prototype of its humanoid robot "Optimus" last year, and its CEO Elon Musk predicted that Tesla would be able to take orders for the robot within three to five years and sell it for less than $20,000. price for sale.

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