Robot startup Figure is making moves again!

In their latest demonstration, despite only using a single neural network, the company's self-developed robot, Figure 01, has achieved a full conversation with another staff member and even managed some tasks and requirements presented by this worker: for example, handing over an apple from the table, packing a black plastic bag into the box, and placing the cup and plate on the draining rack. The video showed the robot moving smoothly through its operations.

Figure stated their goal is to create a complete electric mechanized humanoid robot to handle all physical tasks humans must perform. So far, this 5 feet 6 inches tall robot, with a weight over 132 pounds, can handle a payload of up to about 44 pounds, and its top speed has reached 1.2 meters per second.

Although the robot currently only has a runtime of five hours, Figure's founder pointed out that Figure 01 demonstrated a conversation with humans under an end-to-end neural network framework, with no remote control whatsoever. Furthermore, considering that Figure 01 can already recognize items presented in front of it, provide real-time responses, and manage simple tasks, this is a promising start.

With the rapid development of ChatGPT and other large language models, there's a high likelihood that Figure 01 will make significant progress in the near future.

Humanoid robots seem to be becoming the next investment hotspot. Last month, Figure announced they've reached investment agreements with many notable investors, including AI industry leaders like NVIDIA and Microsoft.

The company stated that the financing amount reached no less than $675 million. After this round of fundraising, analysts speculated Figure AI's current valuation is $2.6 billion.

According to previously disclosed deal details, NVIDIA and an Amazon fund each invested $50 million, Intel's venture capital establishment committed $25 million, LG Innotek pledged $8.5 million, and a Samsung investment entity put forward $5 million. Amazon founder Bezos also promised to invest $100 million through his investment company Explore Investments LLC.

As part of the agreement, Figure will also collaborate with OpenAI to develop AI models for the next generation humanoid robots and use Microsoft's Azure cloud service to establish AI infrastructure and store data.

Figure founder and CEO Brett Adcock stated that the company will use this investment to develop large language models for the robot, scale production, and hire more staff.

The humanoid robot industry as a whole is also thought to be in its infancy. A report from GGII released last May forecasts that by 2026, the global penetration rate of humanoid robots in the service robot category will likely reach 3.5%, with a market size surpassing $2 billion. By 2030, the global market size is expected to exceed $20 billion. In consideration of China's service robot market share around 25% of the global market, by 2030, the Chinese humanoid robot market size will reach $5 billion.

Goldman Sachs analysts also project that the humanoid robot market will hit $38 billion by 2035, predicting over 250,000 humanoid robots being shipped by 2030.