From Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon to "Wooden Sister", the big shots are eyeing the new trend of AI: humanoid robots.
Media reports that the startup Figure AI, which gained popularity due to its coffee-making robot Figure 01, has secured a new round of funding of approximately $675 million, with a pre-investment valuation of around $2 billion. In this round, Microsoft and NVIDIA will each invest $95 million and $50 million respectively, a company under Bezos will invest $100 million, while OpenAI, Samsung Electronics, LG subsidiaries, several venture capital firms, and a fund under "Mudou Jie" will also participate in the investment.
Recent news shows that a startup company developing humanoid robots has recently attracted funding from Silicon Valley giants and venture capital funds, indicating that humanoid robots are becoming a new focus for tech giants to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Last month, media reported that the startup Figure AI Inc. was in talks to raise up to $500 million in a round of financing led by Microsoft and OpenAII, with Microsoft and OpenAII investing $95 million and $5 million respectively. Prior to the deal, Figure's valuation could reach $1.9 billion.
On Friday, February 23, Eastern Time, media sources cited insiders revealing that Figure AI raised approximately $675 million in a round of financing involving Microsoft and OpenAII. Excluding this round of funding, Figure AI was valued at around $2 billion before the investment.
In addition to Microsoft's $95 million investment, this round of financing also saw the participation of some major tech companies. NVIDIA and an Amazon-backed fund each invested $50 million, Intel's venture capital arm will invest $25 million, LG's subsidiary LG Innotek will invest $8.5 million, and Samsung's investment arm will contribute $5 million. Amazon founder Bezos also committed to invest $100 million through his investment company Explore Investments LLC.
Several venture capital firms also participated. Parkway Venture Capital, Align Ventures, Boscolo Intervest Ltd., and BOLD Capital Partners will each contribute $100 million, $90 million, $15 million, and $2.5 million respectively. Investment advisor Aliya Capital Partners will invest $20 million. Investment management company ARK Investment Management, led by "Woodstock Queen" Cathie Wood, reportedly also participated in the financing, with its venture fund ARK Venture Fund investing $2.5 million.
According to the insider, investors will transfer funds to Figure AI next Monday and sign formal agreements. The investment amounts may change until the final details are confirmed.
Both Figure AI and related investors have not commented on the news this Friday.
Established in 2022, Figure AI completed a $70 million financing round led by Parkway Venture Capital in May last year, followed by a $9 million investment from Intel two months later. The recent financing indicates that both Silicon Valley and Wall Street are optimistic about this startup's foray into the field of humanoid robots. Compared to big names in AI applications like Microsoft and Google, Figure AI may not be as well-known in the AI industry, but the company has already made a name for itself with the humanoid robot Figure 01 launched in October last year. Figure 01, with its silver-black appearance, resembles the robot characters in Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters.
Figure 01 gained popularity before for making coffee. As shown in the picture below, it can place a coffee capsule into the coffee machine.
If not placed correctly, it will adjust on its own without the need for any remote control. Figure AI claims that Figure 01 only needs to watch a demonstration video of human actions, along with 10 hours of end-to-end training, to learn the operational skills in the video and then autonomously complete the task.
The self-learning ability of Figure 01 goes beyond this. Figure AI states that given enough time, Figure 01 can tackle even more complex tasks. On January 18th this year, Figure AI announced that Figure 01 will be sent to BMW's Spartanburg factory in South Carolina, USA for a trial "internship," mainly to replace human workers in performing some more dangerous tasks.
In addition to Figure AI, OpenAII also supports a Norwegian humanoid robot company, 1X Technologies. The two reached a cooperation agreement in 2022 to add intelligence to robots using AI models. In March last year, 1X Technologies secured a $23.5 million investment led by OpenAII's venture capital fund.
At the beginning of this year, 1X Technologies completed a Series B financing of over $100 million, with participation from EQT Ventures, Samsung NEXT, Nistad Group, Sandwater, Skagerak Capital, and others.