jakiro
Source: Heart of the Universe
According to Bloomberg, Figure AI, a startup of humanoid robots, is making financing of $ 675 million.The valuation before financing has reached $ 2 billionEssence
Amazon founder Besos and large technology companies such as Microsoft, Nvidia, Openai and other large technology companies jointly rushed to invest, and what was the “circle new” FIGURE AI who received astronomical digital investment?
01.1 minutes of project speed view
1. Project name: FIGURE AI
2. Establishment time: 2022
3. Product introductionThe
FIGURE AI is creating an independent common humanoid robot, which aims to interact with humans and perform a variety of tasks. It can automatically perform a series of actions, including walking, handling, and operating objects.Application scenarios include warehouse management, logistics distribution, medical care and other fields.
4. Founder teamThe
Brett adcock
The founder and CEO, and also a senior technical entrepreneur.Brett has been founded for 20 years. Now his only goal is to create FIGURE for 30 years, which has a positive impact on the future of mankind.
Jerry Pratt
Chief technology officer, he cooperates with the engineering team to ensure that the company uses the best practice, tools and technology, and study emerging technologies to incorporate it into the Figure humanoid robot roadmap.
Dana Berlin
Vice president of strategic development, responsible for all affairs related to company capitalization and market strategy.
5. Financing situationThe
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On April 19, 2023, FIGURE received $ 70 million in Series A financing of 10 investors including Aliya Capital Partners.
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On July 17, 2023, Figure received $ 9 million in Big Sky Partners and Intel Capital.
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On February 23, 2024, FIGURE received approximately US $ 675 million in financing by Amazon’s founder Bezos, and Microsoft, Nvidia, Openai and other large technology companies.
02. Take the benefit of human beings “as the company’s purpose
now,The phenomenon of labor shortage is performed unprecedentedly globallyEssenceIn the United States alone, there are more than 10 million unsafe or unpopular tasks. Among them, 7 million positions are important positions such as warehouses, transportation and retail, and the aging of the population also makes it more and more difficult for the company to expand employee teams.
If we want to break such a social bottleneck and make the labor force continue to increase, we need a higher productivity–This means that more automation is required to supportEssenceAt the same time, many difficult and dangerous tasks are not suitable for human beings. It is urgent to develop new industries to help humans solve these problems.
With the rapid expansion of this demand, the humanoid robot industry came into being.
Expand human ability
There is no doubt that the emergence of humanoid robots allows humans to have more powerful capabilities, can create and produce more things, alleviate the problem of labor shortage, and reduce the number of workers engaged in unsafe work.
Adhering to the purpose of “benefiting humanity”, the Figure team set clear goals:The development of a universal humanoid robot that has a positive impact on humans and can create a better life for future generationsEssenceThese robots can help humans complete unsafe and unpopular work, and eventually make humans live a happier and more meaningful life.
At present, FIGURE engineers are studying a robot that looks more like humans, and this research journey will last decades.Although facing high risk and extremely low opportunities, Figure is still willing to try it.
According to the official website of Figure, if the research results are successful, it will have a huge positive impact on humans and build the largest company on the planet.
FIGURE 01: A big step towards automation
The independent humanoid robot currently developed by Figure AI is Figure 01. This innovation aims to bridge the labor gap, improve the efficiency of manufacturing, and ensure the safety of high risk work.
Whether in improving the quality of life and providing strong economic support for emerging markets, Figure AI has made a major commitment.
Figure 01 currently a significant feature is its innovative “dynamic two -footed walking” abilityEssence
Different from the traditional robot walking method that relying on the quality of the heart to keep on the ground contact point, “dynamic two -foot walking” maintains a balance through momentum, which gives it the ability to flexibly adjust the joint distortion according to the required speed and direction.
This technological advancement not only marks a major breakthrough in the science and technology field, but also has a far -reaching impact on the interaction between humans and robots.
In terms of appearance,FIGUROn the one hand, it is due to the consideration of aesthetics. What’s more important is that this design reduces the quality of the robot’s movement and significantly improves its energy efficiency.At the same time, this design has also had a positive impact on the interaction between humans and robots, making its appearance more humane and reduced people’s sense of anxiety.
03. New favorite of technology giants
Although Figure has been established less than two years and the team size is only about 50 people, the company has been actively recruiting various types of talents, including the elite of the old -fashioned robot company Boston Power, Tesla, Apple, and other hardware manufacturing companies, and promote the humanoid shapeThe continuous progress of robotic technology.
Recently, the company has once again attracted a number of technology giants for investment with its unique innovation results.
In the latest round of financing,Figure AI successfully raised about $ 675 millionThe pre -investment valuation is as high as $ 2 billion.This round of financing has been supported by many technology giants, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
It is worth mentioning that Boss promised to invest 100 million US dollars through his private company Explore Investments LLC, showing its high recognition and support for Figure AI.According to Bloomberg billionaire rankings, Bezos is the world’s second largest richest man. He has been Amazon’s CEO before 2021 and continues to be chairman. At present, his net assets are estimated to be $ 197.1 billion.
Microsoft invested $ 95 million, and Nvidia and Amazon Affiliated Fund each provided $ 50 million. In addition, OpenAI had previously considered acquiring FIGURE AI and invested $ 5 million this time.
In addition, Intel’s venture capital departments, LG Innotek, Samsung’s investment group, and venture capital company Parkway Venture Capital and Align Ventures also participated in this round of financing.
Last April,Figure AI raised $ 70 million in a round of financing led by ParkwayEssenceAt that time, CEO Brett Adcock was optimistic about Figure AI who can introduce humanoid robots to perform business activities, and said: “I hope we are one of the first groups of humanoid robots that are truly useful and can be used for business activities to the market.”
Then, in July last year, Figure received a $ 9 million equity financing of Big Sky Partners and Intel Capital.The funds are used to build software and hardware facilities for multi -purpose humanoid robots.
Today, with the latest round of financing,Figure AI’s funding reserves are quite considerableIt provides sufficient ammunition for the company’s future development.
With the help of this round of financing, FIGURE AI will continue to increase research and development investment to accelerate the research and development process of humanoid robotics.
04.AI Robotics Competition officially opened
Today, with the rapid development of AI technology, iteration updates in the field of intelligent robots are also changing.
As early as April 2022, Dilight Robotics, a startup of social robots, received approximately $ 30 million in financing, and launched the Moxi robot to make up for the shortage of medical staff during the new crown epidemic.
Tesla did not show weakness, and launched Optimus humanoid robots that could “embarrassing dance”; the technical integrator favored by OpenAI 1X Technologies launched the housekeeper robot EVE.
In addition, in February this year, Starship Technologies led by Skype’s co -founder raised US $ 90 million to create street delivery robots with a degree of automation of 99%.
The humanoid robot tracks studied by these companies cover almost all directions: security, home, home, warehousing, logistics, commercialization, etc.Aiming at the labor force shortage and manpower shortcomings of various industriesEssence
And Figure AI stands out by focusing on the advanced “people -like interaction”The overall pattern is still competitive in the industry.
Just in January this year, the German automobile manufacturer BMW announced that it would reach important cooperation with FIGURE AI.It is planned to introduce its Figure 01 robot to the BMW factory in the United States this year to “work”Essence
Thanks to the strong learning ability and adaptability of Figure 01, the robot will be applied to complex manufacturing processes such as body workshops, sheet metals and warehouses.This cooperation not only highlights BMW’s high recognition of Figure AI technology, but also heralds the potential prospects of Figure humanoid robots in the automotive manufacturing industry.
I believe that in the near future, with the more mature technology and more investment in research and development, humanoid robots will accelerate the real life of people to serve people’s real life and replace some high -risk or efficient work.
Remember the department stores that served by humanoid robots in “Doraemon”? Maybe it can really become a reality in the near future.Everyone has a world of AI smart butler is not far from usEssence
