Physical AI, humanoid robots, robot learning, and embodied intelligence from Figure, Boston Dynamics, Tesla, and research labs.
439 articles
Mecka AI, a startup that gathers and analyzes human movement data to train humanoid robots and other robotics systems, is reportedly closing in on a new funding round led by Sequoia Capital. The deal reflects growing investor interest in companies supplying high-quality motion data for robotics AI. Source: techcrunch.com
Researchers trained a humanoid robot using AI models built on recordings of human movement, enabling it to run and perform acrobatic spin kicks. Such humanoids, designed with human-like limbs and body shape, are seen as future helpers for manual tasks. Source: techxplore.com
Caterpillar announced a partnership with robotics firm FieldAI on September 5, 2026, aiming to deploy physical AI and autonomous systems on construction jobsites. The collaboration targets greater automation across heavy machinery operations. Source: marketscale.com
JOYX will supply verified real-to-real robot training data, while Hitch Interactive brings its robotics network and standardized robot interfaces to the partnership. Together the two companies aim to create a shared data infrastructure layer for physical AI systems. Source: businesswire.com
Skild AI's S1 robotic foundation model relies on NVIDIA technology covering synthetic data generation, model training, simulation, and real-world deployment. The approach lets robots pick up new skills after watching just one demonstration video. Source: blogs.nvidia.com
The Redmond-based startup, launched by former Microsoft researchers, says its GRID platform automates much of the engineering work that traditionally keeps robots stuck in pilot phases for a month or longer. Source: geekwire.com
Five months after its debut, the upgraded humanoid robot KAIROS showed off dynamic full-body movements, including motions inspired by traditional Korean mask dance. Source: eurekalert.org
Humanoid robots — machines built with human-like limbs and body structure — could take on a wide range of manual tasks at home and in workplaces, and researchers are now developing an AI controller that converts VR, video and language inputs directly into robot movements. Source: techxplore.com
Nvidia is paying a hefty sum for Hugging Face, the popular open-source model repository, largely to secure its strategic role at the heart of the open-source AI ecosystem. Source: theinformation.com
Founded in May 2024, the startup Humanoid quickly raised $270 million in funding, including a $152 million Series A round that valued the company at $1.35 billion. Source: forbes.com
Agility Robotics revealed in a recent filing that its humanoid robot could cost around $200,000, with customers able to break even in roughly 1.1 years. Source: businessinsider.com
XPENG says its production lines already automate more than 80% of core manufacturing steps. The company plans to start mass-producing its humanoid robots by the end of this year, with a market launch targeted for 2027. Source: stocktitan.net
China's electric vehicle manufacturers are leveraging shared supply chains with humanoid robotics, since both rely on similar cameras, radar sensors, and software. This overlap is helping them accelerate development as they compete with Tesla in the humanoid robot space. Source: amp.scmp.com
Cloud infrastructure company Nscale has signed a $3.5 billion deal with robotics firm Figure to provide AI computing power. The agreement was announced by Nscale CEO Josh Payne and Figure CEO Brett Adcock. Source: w.media
Specialists from both industry and academia have shared their assessments of Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus, offering varied perspectives on its capabilities and design. Source: spectrum.ieee.org
UBS's global head of equities, Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, told clients that humanoid robots are moving from pre-programmed automation toward genuine autonomous capability, opening new investment opportunities in supporting technologies. Source: finance.biggo.com
Figure AI is said to be preparing an unprecedented datacenter expansion aimed at bringing frontier-level AI supercomputing power to humanoid robotics for the first time. Source: mikekalil.com
Sam Altman has indicated that OpenAI plans to develop its own humanoid robots, marking a shift beyond pure software. The hardware push could give the company greater control over training data, but also brings new engineering challenges beyond model performance. Source: therundown.ai
Neocloud provider Nscale has signed a multi-year, $3.5 billion agreement with humanoid robotics company Figure. Under the deal, Nscale plans to deploy up to 100,000 Nvidia Vera Rubin GPUs to support Figure's compute needs. Source: datacenterdynamics.com
At its first Embodied AI Jam event, SAP gathered customers, robot manufacturers, system integrators, and industry experts to develop practical embodied AI use cases within just a few days. Source: news.sap.com