Go, Figure! Company secures deal to deploy 100K humanoid robots in 4 years

Figure AI has secured a major partnership to manufacture and deploy up to 100,000 humanoid robots over the next four years, marking one of the largest commercial robotics deals in U.S. history. The agreement positions the American company to compete directly with Chinese robotics manufacturers like Zhiyuan Robotics in the rapidly expanding humanoid robotics market.

What you should know: Figure AI’s CEO Brett Adcock announced the partnership with “one of the largest companies in the United States,” though specific details remain confidential.

• The deal will focus on cost reduction and AI data collection while targeting both commercial operations and household applications.
• Figure AI plans to concentrate on “a small number of clients” initially, believing it’s “more efficient for us to grow vertically within a few clients rather than spreading ourselves too thin.”

The big picture: This represents a significant escalation in the U.S.-China robotics competition, with both nations racing to dominate the humanoid robot market.

• Chinese company Zhiyuan Robotics recently began mass-producing humanoid robots with a goal of reaching 1,000 units by year-end.
• Figure AI has already established partnerships with BMW, the German automaker, and is now expanding into broader commercial and domestic markets.

Key technical advances: Figure AI has made substantial progress in robot mobility and AI integration across its product line.

• The company’s Figure 01 model, launched in January 2024, initially operated at just 17% of average walking speed.
• The current Figure 02 version has increased that pace sevenfold, reaching 3.94 feet per second or 2.68 miles per hour—roughly the speed of a brisk walk.
• A third version is already under development in the company’s laboratory.

Market applications: The robots are designed for two distinct sectors with specific use cases in each area.

• Commercial operations will focus on manufacturing and logistics applications.
• Household applications include tasks like moving assistance and healthcare support.

What they’re saying: Adcock emphasized the critical role of artificial intelligence in advancing robotics capabilities.

• “Last week, we successfully ran an end-to-end neural network for our new client’s use case. Learning through AI is the only way forward here, as writing heuristics would be impossible,” he explained.

Timeline: Figure AI achieved its first robot launch just 31 months after the company’s founding, demonstrating rapid development capabilities in the competitive robotics landscape.