Figure Raises $675M at $2.6B Valuation and Signs Collaboration Agreement with OpenAI
Summary
Investments from Microsoft, OpenAI Startup Fund, NVIDIA, (through Bezos Expeditions), Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital and others Figure and OpenAI are collaborating to develop next generation AI models for humanoid robots Figure will leverage Microsoft Azure for AI infrastructure, training, and storageSUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Figure, an AI robotics company developing general purpose humanoid robots, today announced that it has raised $675M in Series B funding at a $2.6B valuation with investments from Microsoft, OpenAI Startup Fund, NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions), Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Align Ventures, and ARK Invest. The collaboration aims to help accelerate Figures commercial timeline by enhancing the capabilities of humanoid robots to process and reason from language. Were blown away by Figures progress to date and we look forward to working together to open up new possibilities for how robots can help in everyday life," said Peter Welinder, VP of Product and Partnerships at OpenAI.The Figure team, made up of top AI robotics experts from Boston Dynamics, Tesla, Google DeepMind, and Archer Aviation, has made remarkable progress in the past few months in the key areas of AI, robot development, robot testing, and commercialization ( Figure recently announced its first commercial agreement with BMW Manufacturing to bring humanoids into automotive production ). This investment, combined with our partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft, ensures that we are well-prepared to bring embodied AI into the world to make a transformative impact on humanity," said Brett Adcock, Founder and CEO of Figure. Our Humanoid is designed for initial deployment into the workforce to address labor shortages, jobs that are undesirable or unsafe, and to support supply chain on a global scale.