Figure AI

Figure AI

Overview

Figure AI is a Sunnyvale, California-based humanoid robotics company founded in 2022 by Brett Adcock, focused on building general-purpose humanoid robots for industrial and commercial deployment. Figure has emerged as one of the most commercially advanced humanoid robotics companies, with a high-profile, ongoing partnership with BMW Group that has progressed from initial pilot trials with Figure 02 at BMW's Spartanburg, South Carolina plant through to expanded deployment plans at BMW's Leipzig plant in Germany — Europe's first deployment of Figure humanoids in production.

The Figure 02 robot completed an 11-month deployment at BMW Spartanburg, assisting in the production of more than 30,000 BMW X3 vehicles, moving 90,000+ components across approximately 1,250 operating hours and 1.2 million steps. Following the release of Figure 03, the company is officially retiring Figure 02. For 2026, Figure is targeting a test deployment starting April 2026 at BMW Leipzig, with full integration in summer 2026. Figure 03 is also being positioned for home / consumer use in addition to industrial deployment.

Key Details

  • Founded: 2022
  • Founder / CEO: Brett Adcock
  • Headquarters: Sunnyvale, CA
  • Major Partnership: BMW Group (Spartanburg, SC; Leipzig, Germany)
  • Major Investors: OpenAI, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos, Intel Capital, others
  • Strategic Positioning: General-purpose industrial humanoid robotics
  • Website: https://www.figure.ai

Current Products

  • Figure 03 — Current generation humanoid robot; positioned for both industrial deployment and home / consumer use; ramping at BMW Leipzig in summer 2026
  • Figure 02 — Previous generation; completed 11-month BMW Spartanburg deployment producing 30,000+ X3 vehicles; officially retiring in favor of Figure 03

Key People

  • Brett Adcock — Founder and CEO; previously founded Vettery (acquired by Adecco) and Archer Aviation; one of the most active entrepreneur-CEOs in humanoid robotics

Recent Developments

  • BMW Leipzig Test Deployment (April 2026 → summer 2026 full integration): Figure 03 deployment at BMW Leipzig — Europe's first humanoid robot deployment in BMW production. BMW also announced AEON, its first humanoid robot in Europe at Plant Leipzig for battery and component manufacturing, with two units targeting full production by end of 2026.
  • BMW Spartanburg 30,000-Vehicle Milestone: Figure 02's 11-month deployment at Spartanburg produced 30,000+ X3 vehicles, moved 90,000+ components, and accumulated ~1,250 operating hours and 1.2 million steps before retirement in favor of Figure 03.
  • Figure 03 Release: Current generation positioned for both industrial and consumer use cases — a broader positioning than Figure 02's industrial-only focus.
  • BMW Center of Competence for Physical AI: BMW Group announced a new Center of Competence for Physical AI in Production to accelerate global integration of AI and robotics in production, with Figure as a key partner.
  • Investor Composition: OpenAI, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Jeff Bezos backing puts Figure in the same capital-and-strategic-relationship tier as 1X Technologies and Skild AI.

Why They Matter

Figure AI is the most operationally advanced humanoid robotics company in industrial deployment. The 30,000-vehicle BMW Spartanburg milestone — completed across 1.2 million steps and 1,250 operating hours over 11 months in real production — is the strongest empirical evidence that humanoid robots can produce measurable manufacturing value today, not just in research demos. The expansion to BMW Leipzig and Europe's broader humanoid deployment program (including BMW's own AEON humanoid effort) validates that Figure has commercial demand beyond the initial BMW pilot. Strategically, Figure occupies the industrial-deployment position complementary to 1X's consumer/home focus and Skild's foundation-model layer — making the three companies the most-watched humanoid trio in 2026. With OpenAI, Microsoft, and NVIDIA all invested in Figure (and OpenAI also in 1X), Figure is one of the foundation-model labs' primary embodied-AI deployment platforms.

Last Updated

May 7, 2026

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