Intel Pumps $9 Million into AI Humanoid Robot Startup Figure

Intel Corporation’s venture arm is putting money into Figure, a startup building humanoid robots. Intel invested $9 million in the year-old startup just as its robot took its first step, TechCrunch reported.

Founded by serial entrepreneur, Brett Adcock, Figure wants to deploy autonomous general purpose “humanoid workers” to perform millions of jobs that are hard to fill, either because the jobs are unsafe or undesirable. “The labor supply growth is set to flatline this century,” Adcock on the company’s website. “If we want continued growth, we need more productivity — and this means more automation.”

Launched in the middle of an economic slowdown, Figure emerged last year bootstrapped by its CEO. Adcock, who has built and sold at least two businesses for a combined $2.8 billion, has personally committed $100 million into funding the company. But the company has since gotten the attention of several venture capital investors in the Valley.

Figure’s first robot, Figure 01, was assembled and took its first steps in May just months after the company was founded. “We believe that this is the fastest timeline in the industry to date,” the company said at the time.

The startup went on to raise a $70 million in a Series A funding round in April, bucking the funding slow down across the tech industry. Parkway Venture Capital, a VC firm that previously backed Lyft and China’s DiDi, led the funding round. Other investors include Aliya Capital, Bold Ventures, Tamarack Global, FJ Labs and Till Reuter, CEO Kuka Robotics, an industrial arm maker.

With the fresh backing from Intel, Figure is looking for strategic partners as it moves to get its humanoids from the assembly line to real-world work environments.

“Intel Capital is constantly searching for companies that push the boundaries of innovation, and we believe that Figure has the potential to shift the way the world thinks about artificial intelligence,” said Intel Capital managing director Mark Lydon in a statement. “Figure’s focus on enhancing the labor economy is an essential part of our future, and we look forward to being at the forefront to support humanoid development.”

Figure is not the only company developing humanoid robots. Switzerland startup, Swiss-Mile recently unveiled a droid shaped as a dog which it believes can perform a variety of functions. And NASA is currently testing a humanoid robot to use in space missions.