Figure, a startup company in humanoid robots, recently announced that it has raised $675 million in Series B funding, with a valuation of up to $2.6 billion. This round of funding includes a group of AI innovators and investors, including Microsoft, OpenAI, Jeff Bezos, NVIDIA, Amazon, Intel, and ARK Invest, who aim to accelerate the commercial deployment of Figure's physical AI.

In 2022, Figure caused a sensation with a $100 million commitment from serial entrepreneur Brett Adcock and a bold vision to develop a general-purpose humanoid robot within a year. With a team of 80 experts from pioneering companies such as Boston Dynamics, Figure aims to address labor shortages in undesirable or unsafe jobs through its humanoid robot called Figure 01.

Venture capital firms and AI leaders are placing big bets on Figure, believing it is at the forefront of realizing the real-world impact of AI through advanced robotics technology. The lifelike Figure 01 can walk on two legs, use its five-fingered hands to grasp objects and place them elsewhere, and has already demonstrated 16.7% of human speed in performing the same warehouse tasks.

Although still in the early stages, the company seems to be making rapid progress. The new investment will expand manufacturing capabilities through AI training and cloud infrastructure on Microsoft Azure, accelerate production, and provide funding for key research and development, including an interesting collaboration with OpenAI to develop next-generation AI models for humanoid robots.

As Figure founder Adcock said, "AI and robotics are the future, and I am grateful for the support of investors and partners who believe we are at the forefront."

While the future looks promising, achieving the grand vision of physical AI still requires breakthroughs in multiple areas before autonomous humanoid robots become ubiquitous. Although costs are continuously decreasing, they are still high, and prices may need to drop to $30,000 per robot for viable scalability. Generalization of AI also has a significant gap compared to human cognition. Most experts believe that we are still five years away from achieving artificial general intelligence that can match humans.

Goldman Sachs analysts predict that by 2030, the entire industry could ship over 250,000 humanoid robots, creating a market worth $38 billion if the technology can develop to execute repetitive manual labor safely and accurately.

Nevertheless, Figure aims to accelerate development and achieve commercial viability by combining strong AI talent with robotics pioneers and substantial funding. While progress today is incremental, investments and advancements continue to move steadily forward, potentially sparking a new wave of autonomous humanoid robots in the industry one day. With Figure's latest round of funding, a significant step has been taken towards this future.