Figure AI is building general-purpose humanoid robots designed to work alongside humans in commercial settings. Their Figure 02 robot stands about 5’6″, weighs roughly 130 pounds, and is designed to perform physical tasks in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and eventually homes.
The company’s approach rests on a straightforward logic: human environments are built for human-shaped bodies. Stairs, doors, tools, and workstations all assume a bipedal operator with two arms and hands. Rather than redesigning every workspace for specialized robots, Figure builds robots that fit into existing human infrastructure.
Figure attracted massive attention when they demonstrated their robot having natural conversations and performing tasks directed by voice commands, powered by a collaboration with OpenAI. The robot could identify objects, understand context, and execute multi-step physical tasks based on conversational instructions — a significant leap from traditional industrial robotics.
The company has raised over $700 million at a valuation exceeding $2.6 billion, with backing from Jeff Bezos, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and OpenAI. They’ve signed a commercial agreement with BMW to deploy robots in manufacturing facilities. Founded by Brett Adcock, who previously built and sold Vettery (recruiting) and Archer Aviation (eVTOL aircraft), Figure is betting that humanoid robots will eventually become as transformative as smartphones — general-purpose platforms that reshape how physical work gets done.
