Wow, it looks like we’re entering a new era of humanlike robots! Some major tech players are pouring big money into a startup called Figure that’s developing very lifelike robots.
Get this – Jeff Bezos and his investment firm Explore kicked in a whopping $100 million to Figure’s latest funding round. And Microsoft isn’t far behind with a $95 million investment. Nvidia and an Amazon-affiliated fund are chipping in $50 million each too.
Even OpenAI, the company behind that viral ChatGPT chatbot, is tossing $5 million Figure’s way. OpenAI apparently even considered acquiring Figure at one point!
Other backers jumping on the humanoid robot bandwagon include Intel’s venture capital arm, LG, Samsung, and some venture capital firms I hadn’t heard of before – Parkway Venture Capital, Align Ventures, ARK Venture Fund, and Aliya Capital Partners.
All told, Figure’s raking in about $675 million this round, which gives the startup a sky-high valuation of $2 billion before the money even comes in. Not bad for a little robotics outfit based in Sunnyvale, California!
It seems like everyone’s realizing humanlike robot helpers could be the next big thing after AI chatbots like ChatGPT exploded in popularity late last year. With major tech titans like Bezos and Microsoft now heavily investing, I wouldn’t be surprised if lifelike robots start popping up everywhere over the next few years.
Could be amazing to have robot helpers in homes, offices, warehouses and stores. Or it could get weird fast if the robots get too humanlike! Either way, tech giants are betting big bucks that humanoid robots are the future.
