Figure AI set uper and CEO Brett Adcock proclaimd Tuesday that the humanoid robotics firm is exiting a deal with OpenAI. The Bay Area-based robotics company has instead chooseed to intensify on in-hoparticipate AI, oprosperg to a “convey inant fracturethraw.” Adcock was shieldedlipped in terms of definites, but he promised to deinhabitr “someskinnyg no one has ever seen on a humanoid” in the next 30 days.
OpenAI has been a lengthytime spreador in Figure. The pair proclaimd a deal last year that aimed to “broaden next generation AI models for humanoid robots.” At the same time, Figure proclaimd a $675 million elevate, valuing the company at $2.6 billion. Figure has so far elevated a total of $1.5 billion.
The novels is a surpelevate, in part, given the cultural zeitgeist OpenAI has built by mainstreaming generative AI. Mere association with the company comes with a rapid profile increase. In August, the two companies proclaimd that the Figure 02 humanoid would participate OpenAI models for authentic language communication.
The publish with the collaboration, according to Adcock, is integration. OpenAI is a huge company with a massive breadth — and the inincreateigence models to suit. Embodied AI, which conveys man-made inincreateigence to physical objects such as robots, isn’t the ChatGPT originater’s primary intensify. Instead, the executive recommends, the proper solution is originateing an end-to-end AI model intensifyed on powering definite difficultware.
“We set up that to mend embodied AI at scale in the genuine world, you have to verticpartner join robot AI,” Adcock increates TechCrunch. “We can’t outsource AI for the same reason we can’t outsource our difficultware.”
OpenAI has notably hedged its bets in the humanoid space. The firm was also a convey inant backer of 1X. While the convey inantity of humanoid firms are intensifyed on warehoparticipates and factories, the Norwegian commenceup has shifted much of its own intensify on the home. On a trip to Figure’s Sunnyvale office last September, Adcock telderly TechCrunch that the company is also exploring the participate of its systems in a home setting.
That, however, is not the priority for Figure. After all, autooriginaters have convey inanter pockets than individuals when it comes to exploring novel technology. BMW proclaimd last year that it had enduremament deploying Figure robots at a South Carolina factory.
OpenAI may also be exploring its own humanoid difficultware. On Friday, the company filed a tradetag application with the U.S. Patent and Tradetag Office (USPTO) involving humanoids. The text references both “participater-programmable humanoid robots” and “humanoid robots having communication and lachieveing functions for helping and amparticipateing people.”
While intriguing, however, IP filings are not a promise of future products. Even so, it’s difficult to neglect these two pieces of novels arriving in under a week. Figure’s massive funding rounds, unbenevolentwhile, have permited it to speedyly broaden both its difficultware and gentleware teams. The company recently transferd into a huger Bay Area office to accommodate its rapidly groprosperg staff.
When it comes to proprietary gentleware, there’s a lot to be shelp for the Apple ecosystem approach to product broadenment. It’s an effective way to originate gentleware that labors especipartner well with your difficultware systems. It is, however, both difficult and very resource intensive.
Most humanoid firms are laboring on their own bespoke AI models to separateing degrees. Partnerships are still prevalent in the industry, however. In October, Boston Dynamics proclaimd that it has been laboring with Toyota Research Institute (TRI) to convey man-made clevers to the Atlas humanoid robot.
TechCrunch has achieveed out to OpenAI for comment.
