Jeff Bezos, Nvidia Corp. and other big tech names are investing in an organization that’s developing human-like robots, in accordance with people conversant in the situation, as a part of an effort to search out recent applications of artificial intelligence.
Startup Figura AI Inc. — also supported by OpenAI and Microsoft Corp. — is raising about $675 million in a financing round that has a pre-money valuation of about $2 billion, said the people, who asked to not be identified due to matter. is private. Through his company Explore Investments LLC, Bezos donated $100 million. Microsoft is investing $95 million, and Nvidia and an Amazon.com Inc.-affiliated fund. they donate $50 million each.
Robots have turn into a key recent frontier for the substitute intelligence industry, enabling cutting-edge technologies to be applied to real-world tasks. At Draw, engineers are working on a robot that appears and moves like a human. The company said it hopes its machine, called Figure 01, will give you the chance to perform dangerous jobs which can be unsuitable for humans and that the technology will help alleviate labor shortages.
Read more: Jeff Bezos’ investment in Google competitor Perplexity AI almost doubles in a matter of months because the startup edges closer to $1 billion unicorn status
Other technology corporations are also involved. The enterprise capital division of Intel Corp. contributes $25 million, and LG Innotek contributes $8.5 million. Meanwhile, Samsung’s investment group contributed $5 million. Backers also include enterprise capital firms Parkway Venture Capital, which is investing $100 million, and Align Ventures, which is providing $90 million.
ARK Venture Fund can also be participating in the project, contributing USD 2.5 million, while Aliya Capital Partners is investing USD 20 million. Other investors include Tamarack with $27 million; Boscolo Intervest Ltd., investing $15 million; and BOLD Capital Partners for $2.5 million.
OpenAI, which at one point considered acquiring Figura, is investing $5 million. Bloomberg News reported in January in a funding round that began with Microsoft and OpenAI as the primary lead investors. These big names helped attract an influx of money from other entities. The $675 million raised represents a big increase from the $500 million Figura initially sought.
Representatives for Figure and its investors declined to comment or didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
People with knowledge of the matter expect investors handy over funds to Figure AI and sign formal agreements on Monday, however the numbers could change once final details are finalized. The roughly $2 billion valuation is a pre-money valuation, meaning it doesn’t take note of the capital Figure is raising.
Last May, Figure raised $70 million in a funding round led by Parkway. CEO Brett Adcock said on the time: “We hope to be one of the first groups to bring to market a humanoid that can be useful and commercially viable.”
There has been a variety of movement in the AI robotics industry these days. Earlier this yr, OpenAI-backed Norwegian robotics startup 1X Technologies AS raised $100 million. Vancouver-based AI Sanctuary is developing a humanoid robot called Phoenix. And Tesla Inc. is working on a robot called Optimus, and Elon Musk calls it one in all his most vital projects.
Agility Robotics, which Amazon backed in 2022, is testing bots in one in all the retailer’s warehouses. Bezos – in accordance with the Bloomberg Billionaires rating, the second richest person in the world – was Amazon’s CEO until 2021 and stays its president. His fortune is estimated at $197.1 billion.
Credit : fortune.com
