Attracting investments, selling a business, and commercial real estate in Ukraine. Stay informed with a monthly investment magazine focusing on direct investments and venture capital. Reports indicate that Jeff Bezos, through his firm Explore Investments LLC, has invested $100 million in the startup Figure AI, supported by OpenAI and Microsoft. Microsoft contributed $95 million, while Nvidia and an Amazon-associated fund each invested $50 million. “Robots have become a new critical milestone for the artificial intelligence industry, enabling the application of advanced technologies to address real-world challenges. Figure engineers are working on a robot that looks and moves like a human. The company hopes that its Figure 01 machine will be able to perform tasks that are too dangerous for humans and that its technology will help reduce the labor shortage,” the agency reports. Other tech companies are also joining the project’s funding. For instance, Intel Corp.’s venture arm is investing $25 million, while LG Innotek is providing $8.5 million. Samsung’s investment group has allocated $5 million. Among the investors are venture capital firms like Parkway Venture Capital investing $100 million and Align Ventures providing $90 million. The venture fund ARK Venture Fund is contributing $2.5 million, and Aliya Capital Partners $20 million. Other investors include Tamarack ($27 million), Boscolo Intervest Ltd. ($15 million), and BOLD Capital Partners ($2.5 million). OpenAI, which at one point considered acquiring Figure, is investing $5 million. In January, Bloomberg reported on a funding round initiated by Microsoft and OpenAI as the primary lead investors. “These big names helped attract funds from other companies. The raised $675 million is a significant increase from the $500 million Figure initially sought. Representatives of Figure and its investors declined to comment or did not immediately respond to comment requests,” Bloomberg writes. The roughly $2 billion valuation is a preliminary estimate and does not yet factor in the capital Figure is attracting. In May 2023, Figure raised $70 million in a funding round led by Parkway. CEO Brett Adcock stated, “We hope to be one of the first groups to bring to market a humanoid that can truly be useful and engage in commercial activities.” Earlier this year, the Norwegian robotics startup 1X Technologies AS, supported by OpenAI, secured $100 million. Vancouver-based Sanctuary AI is developing a humanoid robot named Phoenix. Tesla is working on a robot called Optimus, with Elon Musk considering it one of his most important projects, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Agility Robotics, supported by Amazon in 2022, is testing bots at one of the retailer’s warehouses.
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