OpenAI and robotics start-up Figure working on humanoid robot project
The creators of the chatbot ChatGPT want to bring their artificial intelligence software to humanoid robots.
The start-up Figure wants to use OpenAI to develop new AI models for its machines, which can walk upright and already perform complex movements with their mechanical hands.
In January, Figure agreed with BMW to supply robots for use in car production in the US state of South Carolina in future.
OpenAI's AI software is trained with huge amounts of data. Figure recently demonstrated in a video how a robot prototype from the company prepares a cup of coffee using a capsule machine. This includes fine movements such as gripping the capsule and inserting it into the machine. According to Figure, the robot learnt to do this within 10 hours.
The robotics company from Silicon Valley also announced a $675 million financing round on Thursday. Figure was valued at a total of $2.6 billion. In addition to the OpenAI start-up fund, the backers include chip companies Nvidia and Intel as well as Microsoft and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The company Boston Dynamics, which is now owned by the South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, has also been working on humanoid robots for several years. And tech billionaire Elon Musk is developing an upright-walking robot called Optimus at Tesla, the electric car manufacturer he heads.
Figure wants to bring its robots into commercial use as quickly as possible, company boss Brett Adcock said on Thursday. Former employees of Boston Dynamics and Tesla are also active at the company.
