Figure AI, Inc., an American robotics company founded in 2022 by Brett Adcock, developed humanoid robots designed to operate through Artificial intelligence and perform manual labor. In February 2024, the company secured a $675 million venture capital funding round, a significant investment that valued the firm at $2.6 billion. The consortium of investors included prominent technology companies and individuals, reflecting broad confidence in the potential of humanoid robotics for industrial applications. This round followed an earlier $70 million raise in May 2023 and preceded further financing in 2025 that would eventually increase the company's valuation to $39 billion as of late 2025.
Funding and Investors
The February 2024 funding round was led by a diverse group of strategic and financial backers. Key participants included Jeff Bezos, the founder of amazon and Amazon Web Services, who contributed personally, as well as corporate giants Microsoft (AI) and NVIDIA. The startup-funding divisions of Amazon and OpenAI also participated, alongside Intel, which had previously invested in the company. This mix of investors underscored the perceived synergy between advanced Machine learning models, Inference (AI) hardware, and robotics. The round valued Figure AI at $2.6 billion, a substantial increase from its earlier valuation, and positioned it among the most well-funded startups in the humanoid robotics sector. The capital was intended to accelerate the development and deployment of its robot, the Figure 01, which had been introduced in 2022.
Background and Early History
Figure AI was established by Brett Adcock, an entrepreneur previously known for founding Archer Aviation, Vettery, and Hark. In 2022, the company unveiled its first prototype, Figure 01, a bipedal robot targeted at logistics and warehousing tasks. The initial design featured external cabling to facilitate maintenance, reflecting a focus on practical industrial use. The company's early strategy emphasized creating a general-purpose humanoid capable of performing tasks that are dangerous or repetitive for human workers. The May 2023 funding round raised $70 million, with Adcock investing $20 million personally and support from Parkway Venture Capital. This early capital funded the refinement of the robot's hardware and the development of its onboard Deep learning systems.
Partnership with OpenAI
A notable aspect of the February 2024 announcement was a partnership with OpenAI. The collaboration aimed to develop specialized Generative AI models for Figure AI's robots, enabling them to process language and engage in spoken communication with humans. This integration was intended to enhance the robot's ability to interpret commands and operate in dynamic environments. The partnership, however, lasted about a year. In later statements, Adcock explained that the significance of Large language model technology had diminished relative to the challenges of achieving high-rate robot control, leading to the end of the collaboration. Despite this, the initial alliance highlighted the growing intersection of language AI and physical robotics, a trend also seen in other ventures like Anthropic and Character.AI during the same period.
Technology and Robot Development
The funding enabled Figure AI to advance its robotics technology. In August 2024, the company introduced Figure 02, a successor to the original prototype. This model featured five-fingered hands with 16 degrees of freedom (DOF) each, capable of carrying up to 25 kilograms. It integrated cabling within its limbs and housed a battery in its torso. The Figure 02 was equipped with six RGB cameras and an onboard vision–language–action (VLA) model, a type of Neural network system that processes visual and textual inputs to generate motor commands. It boasted three times the computing power of the previous model, including two graphics processing units supported by NVIDIA. Microphones, speakers, and custom AI models, initially developed with OpenAI, allowed for human-robot communication. This hardware progression reflected the iterative approach typical in Robotics, where each generation aims to improve Inference (AI) speed and operational reliability.
Manufacturing and Scaling
In early 2025, Figure AI announced BotQ, a manufacturing facility designed to produce 12,000 humanoids annually, using its own robots in the assembly process. This ambitious scaling plan was supported by the 2024 funding and subsequent capital. By September 2025, a third financing round exceeded $1 billion, raising the company's total valuation to $39 billion, with investors including Brookfield Asset Management, Intel, Macquarie Capital, Nvidia, Parkway Venture Capital, Qualcomm, Salesforce, and T-Mobile. The company also introduced Helix, a VLA model capable of controlling two robots simultaneously, reducing the need for extensive manual training. By April 2026, Figure AI had delivered over 350 units of its later Figure 03 model and increased production to one robot per hour, demonstrating the scale enabled by the substantial funding rounds.
Subsequent Developments and Impact
The February 2024 round was a pivotal event in the competitive landscape of Humanoid robot funding, paralleling other major investments in AI startups during 2023-2024, such as Anthropic Series A 2023 and Inflection AI 2023 Funding. The influx of capital allowed Figure AI to pursue aggressive research and development. By October 2025, the company introduced Figure 03, a more sophisticated robot with 60 total DOF, including 20 per hand, tactile sensors capable of detecting forces as low as 3 grams, and wireless inductive charging. Demonstrations in early 2026 showed Figure 02 models performing household tasks like loading washing machines and folding laundry. The company's growth, however, was not without controversy; in November 2025, a former head of product safety sued the company over termination allegedly related to safety concerns about the robots' strength. Despite this, Figure AI continued to expand, with plans for a gig economy platform called Index and significant investment in Nvidia GPUs, solidifying its position as a leader in the emerging field of general-purpose robotics.