Associated Press reports that robotics startup Figure—though in its infancy at under under two years old and yet to launch a commercial product—is garnering support from influential backers in the tech industry for its ambitious goal to deploy billions of humanoid robots in workplaces and homes worldwide.

In a recent development, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has announced a collaboration with Figure aiming to integrate its AI technologies into humanoid robots. The partnership was unveiled by the Sunnyvale, California-based Figure last Thursday, along with the news of securing $675 million in venture capital. The financial backing comes from a notable group that includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos together with Microsoft, Nvidia, and the startup-funding divisions of Amazon, Intel, and OpenAI. Despite Figure's nascent stage and lack of a market-ready product, it successfully convinced prominent tech industry backers to invest in its vision of populating the globe with billions of robots designed to perform tasks humans prefer to avoid. Brett Adcock, CEO of Figure, expressed to The Associated Press last year the company's aspiration to fill human labor shortages with humanoid robots, potentially selling millions or even billions of units.

For OpenAI, this partnership marks a strategic pivot back to robotics, complementing its primary focus on AI and large language models like ChatGPT. Peter Welinder, OpenAI's vice president of product and partnerships, expressed optimism about the collaboration opening new avenues for robots in daily life. The details regarding the financial aspects of the partnership remain private, but OpenAI will develop specialized AI models for Figure's robots, possibly leveraging its existing technologies including the GPT language models, the DALL-E image generator, and the Sora video generator. The collaboration aims to expedite Figure's commercial endeavors by equipping its robots with advanced language processing and reasoning capabilities. An earlier announcement in January highlighted Figure's agreement with BMW to employ its robots at a car plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, though the specifics of their deployment were still under discussion.

The concept of humanoid robots has sparked debate among robotics experts regarding in what concerns their practicality, since most current robots in factories and warehouses adopt more animal-like features for functionality, e g. robotic arms or finger-like grippers. Advanced legs and arms in humanoid robots, however, represent a significant engineering challenge that has evolved over decades.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has indicated a rekindled interest in robotics, especially after a podcast with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, where he mentioned OpenAI's renewed investment in robotics hardware. This comes after an initial foray into robotics was paused due to early technical challenges. Altman's comments reflect a strategic shift towards prioritizing AI-driven intelligence and cognition before addressing the physical aspects of robotics.