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The race to perfect the humanoid form factor will be one of 2024 ’s delineate tech stories . Last year figure the family heat up , as ship’s company likeTesla , ApptronikandFiguredebuted their systems , whileAgilityinched nigher to the finish liner , announcing a warehouse original with Amazon .
1X is a name ( well , a issue and letter ) that surprisingly does n’t get as much chromatography column space as most of the above . I say “ surprising ” because the Norse firm entered the conversation with a splash back in April , announce a$23.5 million round . This is one of those fundraising cases where thewhoarguable matters more than thehow much .
Tiger Global ’s participation is certainly notable , but it was OpenAI , the rhythm ’s lead , that turned the most head . Understandably so , give the role the firm has roleplay in generative AI ’s stratospheric rise over the retiring year . That underlying technology will almost for certain represent an outsize role in shaping robotics ’ future , and OpenAI has seemingly picked its horse .
This calendar week , 1X announce that it has nearly quadruple that already respectable image with a $ 100 million Series B. OpenAI ’s name is no longer at top of this list , however , with EQT Ventures getting top charge . 1X ’s full fundraising now stands at an enviable $ 125 million .
The heart of the company ’s play is NEO . The humanoid robot hit a like figure ( so to speak ) as some of the competition . It also aims to tackle a similar progeny — specifically global DoL dearth . The logic ( end me if you ’ve heard this one before ) is that humanoids are the idealistic form factor for navigating environments build by humanoids for humanoids . Makes enough sense on its human face , right ?
There are , however , no shortage of detractors . Some suggest such systems are over organize . Others ( in all probability rightfully ) importune that true general - purpose functionality is much further off than we ’re being run to believe . That latter bit , however , is one of the key place where procreative AI can do a lot of heavy lifting .
As for where the large sum of money will go , CEO Bernt Øivind Børnich has a refreshingly businesslike reception , noting , “ This is the first time we are able to provide a payout to our consecrate team . Their contributions have been pivotal to our success . ”
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The funds will also go toward enhancing the company ’s Embodied AI offering and go - to - market for NEO .
