More than 20 million U.S. jobs involve manual labor. Amid growing labor shortages, Brett Adcock’s Figure offers an audacious solution: humanoid robots. The 38-year-old founded the startup in 2022 to create robots that can perform human-like tasks. “The world was built for humans,” Adcock says. “So if we can create a robot that interacts with it in the same way, we can automate a huge range of tasks.”
Others seem to agree. In January 2024, Figure partnered with BMW to integrate their robots into the automaker’s Spartanburg, South Carolina plant. Weeks later, Adcock raised $675 million for the robot startup from investors including OpenAI, Microsoft and Nvidia, as well as Jeff Bezos. Figure is now valued at $2.6 billion.
“We’re in a Goldilocks scenario for AI,” Adcock explains. “This is the first time in human history when this is all possible.” He claims the company’s latest creation, the Figure 02 robot, unveiled in August, can perform 80% to 90% of manual human tasks.
Adcock’s vision extends far beyond factory floors. He predicts a future where everyone owns a humanoid robot, revolutionizing labor markets and the global economy. “Eventually, physical labor will be optional,” he says. “You’ll choose to do it, or you’ll ask your Figure robot to do it.”
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