Nvidia, Microsoft Back Figure AI with $675M Investment for Humanoid Robots Integration

Microsoft Corp MSFT, ChatGPT parent OpenAI, and Nvidia Corp NVDA are investing in a Silicon Valley startup, Figure AI, aiming to revolutionize the workforce with AI-powered humanoid robots. With a recent funding round of $675 million, raising the company’s valuation to $2.6 billion, Figure AI plans to expand AI training, robot manufacturing, and engineering teams.

The startup has partnered with OpenAI to develop advanced AI models for humanoid robots and secured an AI infrastructure deal with Microsoft to accelerate the deployment of these robots in real-world applications, the Financial Times reports.

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Figure AI’s CEO, Brett Adcock, envisions humanoid robots entering commercial operations soon, potentially filling up to 10 million jobs in undesirable or unsafe conditions in the U.S. alone, addressing a labor shortage and contributing to filling the 2.1 million unfilled jobs projected in the U.S. manufacturing sector by 2030.

Investors in this funding round include Bezos Expeditions, Parkway Venture Capital, and Intel Capital.

The collaboration with OpenAI and Microsoft aims to enhance the robots’ language processing capabilities.

At the same time, a commercial agreement with BMW marks Figure AI’s entry into deploying its robots in the automaker’s U.S. factories, starting in South Carolina.

U.S. chipmakers sought over $70 billion in chip subsidies under the U.S. Chips Act. Currently, the U.S. only produces 12% of global chips.

Interestingly, this week, Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA

led a $1 billion investment in Moonshot AI, increasing the startup’s value to $2.5 billion.