Robotics Startup Figure Secures Massive $675 Million Investment from Tech Giants

A Robotics startup called Figure has scored a whopping $675 million in early-stage funding. The money comes from big players like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Jeff Bezos' Amazon.com, giving Figure a valuation of $2.6 billion.

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Based in Sunnyvale, California, Figure is diving deep into the world of humanoid robots, aiming to make them smarter with the help of OpenAI. This partnership means they'll be working on making artificial intelligence that can generate new things for these robots to do.

The recent launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI has stirred up a lot of interest in artificial intelligence. This has led to companies pouring millions of dollars into projects like Figure's, hoping to catch onto the trend and make some serious progress.

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Besides Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon, other big names chipping in money include OpenAI Startup Fund, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Align Ventures, and ARK Invest. This shows a wide range of support and confidence in Figure's work.

Peter Welinder, who's in charge of products and partnerships at OpenAI, is excited about the collaboration. He says they've always wanted to get back into robotics and sees Figure as the perfect partner to explore what these humanoid robots can really do when they're powered by top-notch AI models.

News had already leaked out last week that Bezos and Microsoft were planning to invest big money, with Bezos's firm Explore Investments LLC putting in $100 million and Microsoft $95 million. Nvidia and an Amazon-related fund are also putting in $50 million each.

All this fresh cash will help Figure speed up its plans to put its robots into action commercially. They're planning to use Microsoft's cloud service, Azure, to handle all the AI stuff, like training the robots and storing data.

Just last month, Figure teamed up with BMW Manufacturing to start using its humanoid robots in BMW's factories in the US. This partnership shows Figure's robots are starting to make waves in real-world industrial settings.

Even though the private funding scene has been a bit slow lately, with total venture capital deals in the US dropping by nearly 30% last year, Figure's big funding round is a sign that people still believe in the power of AI-driven robotics to shake things up and bring on some serious innovation.

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