Is the CEO of the heavily funded humanoid robot startup Figure AI exaggerating his startup’s work with BMW?

When Figure Ai, a prominent emerging company of Humanoid Robot, announced a trade agreement with the BMW auto company at early last year, it was a sign of investors and investors and the rest of the robotics industry that the young company was one of the creators who watch it-and to stumble in this advanced sector.

The recent comments made by the founder and CEO of Brett AdCock, along with the company’s videos, gave the impression that a new Robo manufacturing era was at hand. However, a closer look at the partnership details reveal a more modest relationship-at least-which indicates that the workforce for building human cars in the form may be a sensation like reality that raises questions about the sincerity of ADCOCK’s comments.

Until some time in March, a robot was not operated in the South Carolina factory in BMW except during the outside, where it takes parts and placed parts in the factory’s body store, according to a BMW-spokesman, although ADCOCK excelled in February that “fleet” of human-shape robots in the figure was already performing “comprehensive operations”. Recently, this action has moved the same robot to direct production hours, but it includes a single robot that performs the same limited work, the spokesman said.

BMW refused to comment on the differences between what ADCOCK published in February and what the auto giant said was at the time, as he referred to these questions to ADCOCK. The businessman and representatives of the company did not respond to the requests for clarification or comment.

Questions such as science fiction come like human robots that a moment passes. While the efforts made by Elon Musk for a human building called Optimus inside Tesla played a major role in building the noise for the future shape factor, the Figure trade agreement has emerged as one of the first real world’s publishing operations in the American number, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Bezos and Jeff Bezos. Reuters reported in February that the number was Amnesty International to raise another $ 1.5 billion with an evaluation of 40 billion dollars.

Other technology giants, from NVIDIA to Openai, have launched all the initiatives that focus on the robot as the expectations adopt an opportunity for the possible market that secretes the Investment Management Company in trillion dollars in a budget report last fall. According to the collection of $ 400 million. This comes after Apptronik and Sunnyvale, based in California -based California, raised $ 350 million and $ 100 million of financing, respectively.

When Figure announced the BMW partnership in January 2024, a press statement described the agreement as a “teacher based” approach. While the number refers to a “commercial” agreement, none of the parties revealed the financial conditions or the duration of the deal.

How many robots do “fleet”?

Among the mechanical factors that compete for a piece of cake, human skin is among the most sharp appearance. Compared to some loose or clumsy robots made by other companies, the non -brilliant and black shape model 02 cuts an elegant personality, with six eyes cameras, AI on the plane, and hands enough to pour a cup of milk.

In February, ADCOCK reported LinkedIn that the BMW deal had been ink one year ago, and wrote, “We fell the first commercial agent, BMW, a year ago”, reading LinkedIn Post. “We currently have a fleet of robots that perform comprehensive operations.”

At that time, I contacted BMW to try to get more details on the fleet of robots and what comprehensive processes involved. I was astonished, though, BMW spokesman Steve Wilson said that there was only one personality robot working in their factory in South Carolina at any time, and that man was picking up the parts and maneuvering “during non -production hours.” When he was later pressed, Wilson did not say whether these robot tests were due to the presence of only one unilateral figure in the factory, or if the car maker had multiple shows, humans alternate the practice tasks.

He added, “Very soon, the robot will start loading parts for short periods during direct production,” but he refused to provide a more specific timetable. This will be a similar work to implement what has been tested abroad, but in a real production environment.

Wilson explained that the production hours that Humanoid will work on in the shape, will include one robot that does one task at any time, at the Body store in the factory-where the metal panels are finally assembled to form the car structure. According to Wilson, the robot picks up “parts of the hands of a logistical container and placed parts on fixtures” inside a content work cell where “another type of robot will start in welding the parts together.” It looked like a much limited job of “comprehensive operations” that Adcock said that the robots he already do.

In early March, ADCOCK discussed the BMW deal while speaking at a conference. “We have already running every day now,” he said. “Today they are running in their largest factory.” It is not clear whether by the time BMW began to use the numbering robot technology for production work, but even if so, it seemed that ADCOCK’s description again extends the project range against what the BMW official described.

Destroy music!

On Monday, ADCOCK posted a new video of LinkedIn, who explained that the number that Humanoid was now officially making at the BMW factory. The BMW X number, CEO said. “This is not a test – this is what independent robots in production processes look like. Poll to music!”

The video already displayed the type of work that the BMW official described – a robot number that restores metal pieces of a mobile shelf, then walks it into a work cell where it puts it on its combinations in preparation for welding by other automated equipment. Stop the robot in the second shape next to the person who is doing the task, before the video is enlarged to show a very automated factory that currently plays a small role.

Was this the second robot of the “fleet” described by ADCOCK, and would it be swinging to work when the first Humanoid of the juice was run out? Or is it just a marketing pillar? BMW will not say and the shape does not respond to inquiries.

No one, especially BMW, denies that partnership with the number is real, nor that the brand of luxury cars tests the use of human robot in one of its plants. In fact, BMW spokesman Wilson said that the company will reveal more details during a press event in May.

But the contradictions shown in such a prominent deal and may raise embarrassing questions for an industry that still needs to be proven that they are more than just shiny experimental videos and reliable noise for the institution. When it comes to man, as with humans, trust is the key.

Are you a current or former AI or BMW employee with ideas on this topic or advice to participate? Call Jason Del Rey in jason.delrey@fortune.comand jasonrey@protonmail.comOr through a signal of messaging and WhatsApp applications in 917-655-4267. You can also contact it On LinkedIn Or in Delrey on X, JDELREY on threads, on a blouse.

This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

2025-04-06 18:56:00