(Bloomberg) — Meta Platforms Inc., after pushing into augmented reality and artificial intelligence, has identified its next big bet: AI-powered humanoid robots.
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The company is making a significant investment into the category — futuristic robots that can act like humans and assist with physical tasks — and is forming a new team within its Reality Labs hardware division to conduct the work, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Meta plans to work on its own humanoid robot hardware, with an initial focus on household chores. Its bigger ambition is to make the underlying AI, sensors and software for robots that will be manufactured and sold by a range of companies, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the initiative hasn’t been announced.
Meta has started discussing its plan with robotics companies, including Unitree Robotics and Figure AI Inc. At least initially, it doesn’t plan to build a Meta-branded robot — something that could directly rival Tesla Inc.’s Optimus — but it may consider doing so in the future, the people added.
The humanoid effort mirrors exploratory projects at other technology giants, including Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Deepmind division. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment.
Meta confirmed the creation of the new team to employees Friday, telling them it will be led by Marc Whitten, who resigned as chief executive officer of General Motors Co.’s Cruise self-driving car division earlier this month. He was previously an executive at gaming company Unity Software Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
“The core technologies we’ve already invested in and built across Reality Labs and AI are complementary to developing the advancements needed for robotics,” Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer, wrote in a memo reviewed by Bloomberg News. He mentioned the company’s advancements in hand tracking, computing at low bandwidth and always-on sensors.
Meta executives believe that while humanoid robotics companies have made headway in hardware, Meta’s advances in artificial intelligence and data collected from augmented and virtual reality devices could accelerate progress in the nascent industry. Current humanoids are still not useful enough to fold clothes, carry a glass of water, place dishes in a rack for cleaning or conduct other home chores that could get consumers interested in the category.
