OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is seeking to integrate its AI technology into humanoid robots through a partnership with robotics company Figure.

Figure, a company located in Sunnyvale, California, revealed their collaboration on Thursday and also shared news of receiving $675 million in funding from a group which includes Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, as well as Microsoft, chipmaker Nvidia, and the startup-investing divisions of Intel and OpenAI.

The figure, which is under two years old, does not currently have a product available. However, it is successfully convincing important figures in the tech industry to support its plan to distribute billions of lifelike robots to workplaces and homes worldwide.

Last year, Brett Adcock, the CEO of Figure, expressed that there is a potential for selling millions, possibly billions, of humanoids if they can perform tasks that people do not want because of a shortage of human workers.

OpenAI was previously involved in robotics exploration but shifted its attention to large language models for ChatGPT. According to Peter Welinder, Vice President of Product and Partnerships at the San Francisco-based company, the collaboration will expand the potential for robots to assist in everyday activities.

The specific details of the financial arrangement between Figure and OpenAI have not been made public. As part of their partnership, OpenAI will develop specialized artificial intelligence models for Figure’s humanoid robots, potentially utilizing their existing technology such as GPT language models, the image-generator DALL-E, and the recently released video-generator Sora.

Figure has declared that their robots will be able to “interpret and analyze language” which will hasten their plans for commercial implementation. In January, the company confirmed a partnership with BMW to utilize their robots in a car factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, but the specific details and timeline were not yet determined.

There is a debate among experts in robotics about the value of humanoid robots. Although many robots used in industrial settings may have certain characteristics of animals, such as a robotic arm, finger-like grippers, or legs, they are not completely human-like. This is due, in part, to the lengthy process it has taken for robotics engineers to create robots that can walk efficiently on two legs and accurately handle small objects.

Whitney Rockley, the co-founder and managing partner of McRock Capital, a VC firm based in Toronto, recognizes the appeal of humanoid robots due to their relatability and ability to evoke emotions and spark discussions. However, despite their potential, she believes they still face significant technical obstacles and are not quite refined enough, which is why she prefers to invest in non-humanoid robots.

“We approach the field of robotics and automation from a practical standpoint, taking into consideration the timeline needed for successful commercial launch and implementation.” According to Rockley, “the groups investing in humanoid solutions are committed for the long term, which is crucial, but it will still require many decades to fully realize their potential.”

During a podcast with Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, mentioned a renewed attention towards robotics. Altman shared that the company is now investing in potential hardware platforms for robotics, after previously discontinuing their own research in this area.

Altman informed Gates that they had begun the robot project prematurely, leading to the decision to pause it. He acknowledged that they had encountered issues with faulty simulators and injuries to tendons, causing disruptions to their other tasks.

He mentioned that as time passed, it became increasingly clear that what we truly needed was intelligence and cognition in order to figure out how to incorporate physicality.

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The Associated Press has entered into an agreement with OpenAI to gain access to its collection of news articles.

Source: wral.com