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Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, and several big tech companies are investing in Figure AI, a startup developing human-like robots. The company has secured about $675 million in funding, with a pre-investment valuation of about $2 billion, Bloomberg reported.
Figure AI has attracted significant interest from the tech industry, with major companies investing, including Microsoft with $95 million and Nvidia and Amazon.com-linked funds with $50 million each. The startup’s ambitious project aims to advance AI and robotics capabilities (possibly including Amazon’s capabilities) with the help of these influential backers.
Figure AI aims to place AI-powered Figure 01 robots in warehouses around the world. Figure 01 is an autonomous machine that can learn and perform warehouse tasks.
Other notable investors in this funding round include Intel Corp.’s venture capital arm, which is injecting $25 million, and LG Innotek, which is contributing $8.5 million. Samsung’s investment group is also participating by investing $5 million. The involvement of these companies confirms the widespread interest in the potential of AI-powered humanoid robots.
This funding round has also attracted significant venture capital interest. Parkway Venture Capital is investing $100 million and Align Ventures is providing $90 million. Additional backers include ARK Venture Fund, Aliya Capital Partners, Tamarack, Boscolo Intervest Ltd. and BOLD Capital Partners, who contributed varying amounts to the total funding.
OpenAI, an early backer of Figure AI, had previously considered acquiring the startup and has invested $5 million.
Originally seeking $500 million, this funding round exceeded expectations. Microsoft and OpenAI were also involved early on and helped attract further investment.
Activity in the AI robotics field is rapidly increasing, with companies such as 1X Technologies, Sanctuary AI, and Tesla also working on developing humanoid robots. Figure AI’s successful funding round highlights the growing interest and investment in developing robots that can perform complex tasks and address workforce challenges.
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