What Figure AI does
Figure AI builds general-purpose humanoid robots and the artificial intelligence that controls them. Brett Adcock founded the company in 2022, TechCrunch reported when it raised $675 million at a $2.6 billion valuation in February 2024. He is its chief executive. A September 2026 announcement with Nscale gives its headquarters as San Jose, California.
The current robot is Figure 03, introduced in October 2025. Figure says it was designed for use in the home and for mass production. The robots run Helix, which Figure describes as a vision-language-action model. That type of AI turns camera images and instructions into physical movement. Figure builds them at a plant it calls BotQ. It said BotQ could initially make up to 12,000 robots a year.
Why it matters
In September 2025 Figure announced more than $1 billion in Series C commitments at a $39 billion post-money valuation. That is 15 times the $2.6 billion reported in February 2024. Parkway Venture Capital led the round, with Nvidia and Brookfield Asset Management among the participants.
Evidence of what the robots do in real workplaces comes mostly from the company. Some of its claims have been challenged. Figure said in November 2025 that its earlier Figure 02 robot completed an 11-month deployment at BMW's plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, loading more than 90,000 sheet-metal parts. Earlier that year, Fortune reported that a BMW spokesperson described a single robot working at any given time, on a single task. It said that contrasted with Adcock's public description of a fleet. TechCrunch later reported that Adcock had publicly threatened to sue a publication over such coverage.
Recent developments
- November 2025: Robert Gruendel, a former Figure safety engineer, sued the company in federal court in California. He alleged he was dismissed after warning executives that its robots could fracture a human skull. Figure said he was terminated for poor performance and called his allegations false, TechSpot reported, citing CNBC. The court docket, as retrieved by Justia on July 6, 2026, lists filings through April 2026.
- January 2026: Figure released Helix 02. Figure describes it as a single neural system that controls the robot's whole body from camera input.
- April 2026: The company said BotQ output had risen from one Figure 03 a day to one an hour in under 120 days, with more than 350 delivered.
- June 2026: Figure said a Figure 03 had arrived at BMW's Spartanburg plant and showed it demonstrating parts sequencing. That involves selecting and sorting parts for the assembly line.
- September 2026: Figure agreed with compute provider Nscale on an initial $3.5 billion compute commitment covering up to 100,000 Nvidia GPUs. Deployment is due to begin in Barstow, Texas, in the second half of 2027. Nscale is also investing in Figure. The company then published Helix 2.5. It said it tested three household tasks in 30 homes the robot had not seen. It reported a 56% success rate, against 9% for a model trained without its Index data. It added that this does not mean general humanoid robotics is solved.
What to watch
- Outside verification: The performance figures cited here for Helix, BotQ and the BMW work come from Figure's own announcements.
- Spending: Figure said in August 2026 that it would spend more than $1 billion on data and compute over the following 12 months. Its Index app pays people to record themselves doing everyday tasks.
- Customers: Figure signed an agreement in May 2026 with Catalyst Brands, whose retail chains include JCPenney, starting at a distribution center in Reno, Nevada.
Figure AI timeline
Figure publishes Helix 2.5, reporting a 56% zero-shot success rate on three household tasks across 30 homes its robots had not seen before.
Source: Figure
Figure and Nscale announce an initial $3.5 billion compute commitment for up to 100,000 Nvidia GPUs, with Nscale also investing in Figure.
Source: Figure
Figure says its BotQ facility raised output from one Figure 03 a day to one an hour in under 120 days, with more than 350 robots delivered.
Source: Figure
Robert Gruendel files suit against Figure AI in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Source: Justia Dockets & Filings
Figure introduces Figure 03, its third-generation humanoid robot.
Source: Figure
Figure announces more than $1 billion in Series C commitments at a $39 billion post-money valuation, led by Parkway Venture Capital.
Source: Figure
TechCrunch reports Figure's $675 million Series B at a $2.6 billion valuation, with Microsoft, OpenAI Startup Fund and Nvidia among investors.
Source: TechCrunch
Brett Adcock founds Figure to build general-purpose humanoid robots.
Source: TechCrunch
Sources
- Figure rides the humanoid robot hype wave to $2.6B valuation, TechCrunch
- Nscale and Figure Sign Strategic Partnership to Power the Next Generation of Physical AI, Nscale (via PR Newswire)
- Introducing Figure 03, Figure
- Figure Exceeds $1B in Series C Funding at $39B Post-Money Valuation, Figure
- F.02 Contributed to the Production of 30,000 Cars at BMW, Figure
- Is the CEO of the heavily funded humanoid robot startup Figure AI exaggerating his startup's work with BMW?, Fortune
- Figure AI CEO skips live demo, sidesteps BMW deal questions onstage at tech conference, TechCrunch
- AI robots with the power to crush skulls? 'Whistleblower' lawsuit sounds alarm on Figure AI, TechSpot
- Gruendel v. Figure AI, Inc. 5:2025cv10094, Justia Dockets & Filings
- Introducing Helix 02: Full-Body Autonomy, Figure
- Ramping Figure 03 Production, Figure
- F.03 Arrives at BMW, Figure
- Figure and Nscale Sign Strategic Partnership For Up to 100,000 GPUs on the NVIDIA Vera Rubin Platform, Figure
- Helix 2.5: Zero-Shot 30-Home Generalization, Figure
- Introducing Index: Building The World's Largest and Most Diverse Physical Dataset, Figure
- Figure Signs Agreement with Catalyst Brands to Scale Humanoid Operations, Figure
