Today, Figure, a Bay Area-based robotics firm, confirmed long-standing rumors that it’s raising a significant amount of funding. The company announced a $675 million Series B on a $2.6 billion valuation, an impressive feat for a startup with an 80-person headcount. This round of funding is expected to bring about significant changes in the company’s structure and operations.
The lineup of investors is equally impressive, including tech giants like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, as well as renowned venture capital firms such as OpenAI Startup Fund, Bezos Expeditions, Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Align Ventures, and ARK Invest. This mind-boggling sum of money is a testament to the potential that these investors see in Figure.
Despite being a relatively small startup, Figure has already had a lot to work with. Founder Brett Adcock notably bootstrapped the company to the tune of $100 million. Last May, it added $70 million in the form of a Series A. The company’s name, “Figure,” was initially thought to be a reference to the robot’s humanoid design and perhaps an homage to a startup that’s figuring things out. However, it now seems to be a reference to the astronomical funding figure it’s raised thus far.
Launched in 2022, Figure is very much a product of its time. It set an ambitious goal of creating a walking bipedal robot in a year’s time, a goal that the company claims to have achieved. Humanoid robots are currently having a moment, with companies like Tesla, Apptronik, and 1X showcasing their versions. Amazon recently began a small pilot with Agility’s Digit robot, which seems to have found its groove in supplementing human labor in warehouses and fulfillment centers.
Most companies, including Figure, are working toward the same goal. The upfront costs are just one reason it makes a lot more sense to focus on the workplace before the home. It’s also one of many reasons it’s important to properly calibrate your expectations of what a system like this can and can’t do. Some companies, namely Tesla, have perhaps set unrealistic expectations about the current state of the art. The term “general purpose” gets tossed around a lot when discussing these robots. In essence, it refers to systems that can quickly pick up tasks the way humans do.
The eventual goal of generalized AI is, in fact, a big driver for the humanoid form factor. Robots built for a single function are difficult to adapt, while, in theory, a robot built like us can do anything we can. When visiting Figure’s HQ last year, the company had recently built a demo area in the center of the office. The space’s primary use was showcasing the robot to potential clients and investors. Tellingly, it was set up to resemble a warehouse or factory.
Today’s news also finds Figure signing a partnership with generative AI pioneer OpenAI. The goal of the deal is to “develop next-generation AI models for humanoid robots,” according to Figure. The near-term application of LLMs is their ability to create more natural methods of communication between robots and their human colleagues. The collaboration aims to help accelerate Figure’s commercial timeline by enhancing the capabilities of humanoid robots to process and reason from language.
Natural language allows people to give the system commands and gives humans a better understanding of what the robot is doing. These are, after all, much more complex systems than a human-piloted forklift, for example. If they’re going to operate autonomously, you’re going to need a more direct method of communication, especially in a busy warehouse or factory floor. The language process allows for human assistance in correcting mistakes.
OpenAI VP Peter Welinder says, “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.”
Another thing that makes the deal interesting is OpenAI’s investment in its direct competitor, 1X. One wonders whether such a deal is OpenAI rethinking its investments or if this is simply the company playing the field. My guess at the moment is the latter. If you’re in OpenAI’s position, you might as well work with as many promising companies as you can, and Figure has certainly demonstrated some real progress in the eight months since it took its first steps.
Take this video posted a little over a week ago. Figure 1 says the robot’s operations are roughly 16.7% faster than those of a human doing the same task. That is, it’s very slow and methodical—deliberate, even. That much is clear from the video. And it’s always good to see a robot operating at actual speed in a demo video, no matter how well-produced it happens to be. People have told me in hushed tones that some folks try to pass off sped-up videos without disclosing as much. It’s the kind of thing that feeds into consumers’ already unrealistic expectations of what robots can do.
Microsoft’s investment finds the company utilizing Azure for storage, training, and AI infrastructure. “We are excited to collaborate with Figure and work towards accelerating AI breakthroughs,” says Microsoft Corporate VP Jon Tinter. “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.”
Somewhat interestingly, Figure was not included in Bill Gates’ recent list of exciting robotics startups, though two other humanoid companies (Agility and Apptronik) were. The Amazon Innovation Fund’s participation in this round is also particularly notable, as it can often serve as a pipeline to real-world deployment in fulfillment centers—take Agility as a key example.
The autonomous part is important as well, given the propensity to pass off tele-op for autonomy. One of the reasons autonomy is so difficult in cases like this is because of all the variations you can’t account for. While warehouses tend to be fairly structured environments, any number of things can occur in the real world that will knock a task off-kilter. The less structured these tasks become the greater the potential for error. A lot of questions remain, including how many takes it took to get this right. One thing this absolutely has going for it is the fact that the action is captured in one continuous shot, meaning the company didn’t cobble together a series of actions through creative editing.
Mechatronics is easier to judge in a short video than AI and autonomy, and from that perspective, the Figure 01 robot appears quite dexterous. In fact, if you look at the angle and positioning of the arms, you’ll notice that it’s performing the carry in a manner that would be quite uncomfortable for most people. It’s important to note that just because the robot looks like a person doesn’t mean that it has to behave exactly like one. My educated guess is that the positioning of the tote has to do with the robot’s center of gravity and perhaps the fact that it appears to be extremely heavy.
The figure says the money will go toward accelerating its go-to-market. The company has already signed a deal with BMW for robotics deployment. This partnership is a significant step forward for Figure, indicating that the company is ready to make its mark in the world of robotics. With its impressive funding and ambitious goals, Figure is certainly a company to watch in the coming years.
