Robotics Startup Physical Intelligence Secures $400M, Envisions AGI-Powered Future with Bezos and OpenAI Backing

San Francisco-based robotics startup Physical Intelligence has announced that it has secured $400 million in funding, bringing its valuation to $2.4 billion. This development highlights the investment interest from prominent figures and companies, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and OpenAI, alongside Thrive Capital and Lux Capital. Notable investors, Khosla Ventures and Sequoia Capital, are also listed on the company's website.

Physical Intelligence's new valuation is roughly six times its March seed funding, which reportedly amounted to $70 million with a valuation of $400 million. The startup's current team includes talents from Tesla, Google DeepMind, and X, reflecting a strong foundation in both robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors.

According to the startup's website, Physical Intelligence is focused on bringing general-purpose artificial intelligence (AGI) to the real world by developing large-scale AI models and algorithms to empower robots. The company shared in a blog post that it has been developing a "universal" AI model for robots over the past eight months as a first step towards its ultimate goal of creating AGI. AGI refers to AI technology that can perform tasks on par with or surpassing human intelligence across a broad range of activities.

Just days ago, OpenAI introduced a search function in its ChatGPT chatbot, enhancing its competitive stance against search engines like Google, Microsoft’s Bing, and Perplexity. OpenAI also closed its latest funding round with a valuation of $157 billion last month, suggesting a robust interest and confidence in AI-powered solutions.

Physical Intelligence envisions a future where users can simply ask robots to complete any task they desire, paralleling the functionality of large language models (LLMs) and chatbot assistants. The company has illustrated its technology with case studies showing robots performing tasks such as doing laundry, clearing tables, or assembling boxes.