Figure AI, an American robotics company founded in 2022 by Brett Adcock, develops humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence. In 2025, the company completed a $1.5 billion funding round, reaching a valuation of $39 billion, with participation from Intel Capital and Align Ventures. This round marked a significant milestone in the company's rapid growth, following earlier investments from major tech firms and venture capitalists.
The funding round occurred amid a broader surge of investment in AI and robotics, as companies sought to commercialize humanoid robots for industrial and domestic applications. Figure AI's valuation growth from $2.6 billion in early 2024 to $39 billion by late 2025 reflected investor confidence in its technology and market potential.
Background and Early Funding
Figure AI was founded in 2022 by Brett Adcock, who previously founded Archer Aviation, Vettery, and Hark. The company's first prototype, Figure 01, was introduced that year as a bipedal robot designed for manual labor, initially targeting logistics and warehousing. In May 2023, Figure AI raised $70 million from investors including Adcock himself, who contributed $20 million, and Parkway Venture Capital.
In February 2024, Figure AI secured $675 million in venture capital from a consortium that included Jeff Bezos, Microsoft, Nvidia, Intel, and the startup-funding divisions of Amazon and OpenAI, valuing the company at $2.6 billion. This round also included a partnership with OpenAI to develop AI models for the robots, though the collaboration ended after a year, with Adcock noting that large language models had become less critical compared to models enabling "high rate robot control."
The 2025 Funding Round
The $1.5 billion round in 2025 was led by Intel Capital and Align Ventures, with participation from other existing and new investors. This round brought Figure AI's total valuation to $39 billion, a substantial increase from the previous year. The funds were earmarked for scaling production, advancing AI models, and expanding commercial deployments.
Intel Capital's involvement underscored the strategic importance of robotics to semiconductor companies, as Figure AI's robots rely heavily on Nvidia GPUs and other computing hardware. Align Ventures, a newer investor, signaled growing interest from venture capital in humanoid robotics.
Technology and Product Development
By 2025, Figure AI had developed three generations of humanoid robots: Figure 01, Figure 02, and Figure 03. The company also created two iterations of its vision-language-action (VLA) model, Helix 01 and Helix 02, which could control up to two robots simultaneously. These models enabled robots to interact with the world without extensive manual training, allowing them to pick up nearly any small household object.
In August 2024, Figure 02 was introduced with five-fingered hands offering 16 degrees of freedom (DOF) and the ability to carry up to 25 kilograms. It featured integrated cabling, a torso-placed battery, six RGB cameras, and an onboard VLA model, with three times the computing power of its predecessor, including two Nvidia-supported GPUs.
In October 2025, Figure 03 was unveiled, standing 5.5 feet tall with 60 total DOF, including 20 per hand. It had an upgraded camera system with twice the frame rate, a quarter the latency, and a 60% wider field of view, plus cameras in each hand. Tactile sensors in the fingertips could detect forces as little as 3 grams. The robot incorporated soft materials and a protected battery for safety, and supported wireless inductive charging.
Manufacturing and Deployment
In early 2025, Figure AI announced BotQ, a manufacturing facility designed to produce 12,000 humanoids per year, using its own robots to assist in production. By April 2026, the company had delivered over 350 Figure 03 models and increased production to one robot every hour. By the end of June 2026, Figure AI had about 740 robots operating, compared to only 600 human employees.
In May 2026, Adcock stated that the company would soon lease robots for domestic use at around $600 per month, and announced that the Figure 04 design had been locked. Demonstrations in early 2026 showed Figure 02 robots loading washing machines, sorting packages, folding laundry, and loading and unloading dishwashers, based on motion-capture data and simulation-based machine learning.
Market Impact and Competition
The funding round positioned Figure AI as a leader in the humanoid robotics space, competing with companies like Tesla, Sanctuary AI, and others. The company's valuation of $39 billion placed it among the most valuable AI startups, comparable to other major players in the field.
The broader AI investment boom in 2025, including the agentic coding boom and increased funding for AI startups like Anthropic, contributed to a favorable environment for Figure AI's fundraising. The company's focus on general-purpose robots capable of learning from humans differentiated it from more specialized industrial robots.
Challenges and Controversies
In November 2025, the former head of product safety sued Figure AI, alleging she was fired for raising concerns that the robots were strong enough to fracture a human skull. The lawsuit highlighted safety and ethical considerations in humanoid robot development.
In September 2026, most of the outdated Figure 02 robots were destroyed by being melted down in arc furnaces at Ovako's steel mill in Imatra, Finland, to protect proprietary hardware details. This action was suggested by Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose character in Terminator 2: Judgment Day faces a similar fate.
Future Outlook
In late August 2026, Figure AI launched a gig economy platform called Index to capture work data from humans wearing sensors, expected to cost $1 billion over the next year. The following month, the company announced plans to spend upwards of $3.5 billion on Nvidia GPUs by the next year, indicating continued investment in AI infrastructure.
By late 2025, Figure AI had a $39 billion valuation, and its robots demonstrated potential for household work, including a Figure 03 appearing at a White House event in March 2026. The company's trajectory suggested significant growth in the coming years, with plans for domestic leasing and expanded production.
See Also
- Figure AI
- Figure $675M Round (2024)
- Figure $1B Round (2025)
- Figure AI's Series C (2025)
- Figure AI's Series B (2024)
- Figure AI's Series A (2023)
- Figure $1B (2023)
- Figure AI's $675 Million Funding Round (2023)
- Figure AI $675M Series B
- Figure AI $675 Million Funding
- Figure AI's Series A (2023)
- Intel Capital
- NVIDIA
- Microsoft (AI)
- amazon
- OpenAI
- Jeff Bezos
- Robotics
- Artificial intelligence