Jeff Bezos. Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
Jeff Bezos and major technology companies including Nvidia are investing in companies developing human-like robots as part of the race to find new uses for artificial intelligence, according to people familiar with the matter. .
Figure AI Inc., a startup also backed by OpenAI and Microsoft Corp., has raised about $675 million in a funding round and has a pre-money valuation of about $2 billion, according to the issue. The sources, who requested anonymity, said: It’s private. Bezos has pledged $100 million through his company, Explore Investments LLC. Microsoft invested $95 million, and Nvidia and Amazon.com funds each contributed $50 million.
Robots are emerging as an important new frontier for the AI industry, allowing cutting-edge technology to be applied to real-world tasks. At Figure, engineers work to create robots that look and act like humans. The company said its machines, called Figure 01, will be able to perform dangerous tasks unsuited to humans, and that it hopes the technology will help alleviate labor shortages.
Other technology companies are also participating. Intel Corp.’s venture capital arm is pouring in $25 million, and LG Innotek is providing $8.5 million. Meanwhile, Samsung’s investment group invested $5 million. Backers include venture firm Parkway Venture Capital, which is investing $100 million, and Align Ventures, which is providing $90 million.
ARK Venture Fund is also participating, investing $2.5 million, and Aliya Capital Partners is investing $20 million. Other investors include Tamarack ($27 million). Boscolo Interest Ltd. invested $15 million. and BOLD Capital Partners for $2.5 million.
OpenAI, which at one time considered acquiring Figure, has invested $5 million. In January, Bloomberg News reported on the funding round, which was launched with Microsoft and OpenAI as the initial lead investors. These large companies helped attract capital inflows from other companies. The $675 million raised is a significant increase over the $500 million that Figure originally sought.
Representatives for Figure and its investors either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
People familiar with the matter expect investors to wire money to Figure AI and sign a formal contract on Monday, although the numbers could change as final details are finalized. The roughly $2 billion valuation is pre-funding, meaning it doesn’t take into account the capital that Figure has raised.
Last May, Figure raised $70 million in a funding round led by Parkway. “We hope to be one of the first groups to bring to market a humanoid that is actually useful and capable of commercial activities,” CEO Brett Adcock said at the time.
The AI robot industry has been busy lately. Earlier this year, OpenAI-backed Norwegian robotics startup 1X Technologies AS raised $100 million. Vancouver-based Sanctuary AI is developing a humanoid robot called Phoenix. Tesla is also working on a robot called Optimus, which Elon Musk has called one of his most important projects.
Agility Robotics, which Amazon backed in 2022, is testing a bot in one of the retailer’s warehouses. Bezos, the second-richest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires, served as Amazon’s chief executive officer until 2021 and remains its chairman. His net worth is estimated at $197.1 billion.
