Humanoid robot development company 'Figure' raises 100 billion yen from Microsoft, OpenAI, NVIDIA, etc., reaching valuation of 390 billion yen
Robot development company ' Figure ' has announced that it has raised $675 million (approximately 100 billion yen) from Microsoft, OpenAI, NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos, and others. Figure plans to use the funds raised to advance research and development of humanoid robots, and has also announced that it will collaborate with OpenAI to develop AI for humanoid robots.
Figure Raises $675M at $2.6B Valuation and Signs Collaboration Agreement with OpenAI
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/figure-raises-675m-at-2-6b-valuation-and-signs-collaboration-agreement-with-openai-302074897.html
Figure is a robot development company based in California, USA, and is conducting research toward the commercialization of humanoid robots. The humanoid robots developed by Figure are capable of walking upright and bipedally, just like humans, and can be made to learn movements simply by ``showing images'' without the need for humans to program detailed movements in advance. For example, in January 2024, a demo was released that said, ``Just by studying 10 hours of videos, you can learn and execute a series of steps to make coffee with a coffee machine'' and it became a hot topic.
Why does 'video of a humanoid robot making coffee' represent a big step for the future of AI robotics? -GIGAZINE
Furthermore, Figure released a demo video of a humanoid robot on February 27, 2024. The video below records the figure performing the following actions: ``Walk to a point where the container is, lift the container, and place the container correctly on the roller conveyor.''
Figure Status Update - Real World Task - YouTube
On February 29, 2024, Figure raised a total of $675 million (approximately 100 billion yen) from Microsoft, OpenAI Startup Fund, NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos, Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, and Align Ventures. We announced that. It has also been revealed that Figure's valuation has reached $2.6 billion (approximately 390 billion yen).
Announcing: Figure raises $675M at $2.6B valuation
— Figure (@Figure_robot) February 29, 2024
In addition, OpenAI & Figure signed a collaboration agreement to develop next generation AI models
More details below: pic.twitter.com/iVYBrcQTPT
The funds raised will be used for ``AI learning,'' ``building a manufacturing environment,'' ``deploying more robots,'' ``expanding the hiring of engineers,'' and ``promoting commercial development.'' In addition, Figure has also revealed that it will collaborate with OpenAI to develop a ``next-generation AI model for humanoid robots'' with improved language processing and reasoning abilities.
We also signed a collaboration agreement with OpenAI to develop next generation AI models for humanoid robots
— Figure (@Figure_robot) February 29, 2024
The collaboration aims to help accelerate Figure's commercial timeline by enhancing the capabilities of humanoid robots to process and reason from language
Figure also revealed that it uses Microsoft's cloud computing service ``Azure'' for AI infrastructure, AI learning, and storage, highlighting its close cooperative relationship with Microsoft and OpenAI.
Figure will leverage Microsoft Azure for AI infrastructure, training, and storage
— Figure (@Figure_robot) February 29, 2024
We are excited to partner with OpenAI and Microsoft to bring embodied AI to the real world
In addition, Figure is recruiting engineers on the following page.
Careers | Figure
https://www.figure.ai/careers
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