#3,356 – Metabot, Figure, and the Future of Robotics
October 14, 2025 by Craig Shames
AI is capturing all the headlines of late and rightfully so but coming up fast right behind it is the burgeoning field of robotics and specifically humanoid robotics. The field is advancing rapidly, buoyed by those same advanced in AI, and we’re now on the verge of having a society that will quickly have to come to terms with having humanoids living among us and working alongside us. Just like in the movie I, Robot.
Figure is leading the charge with their latest release:
It’s hard not to be impressed after watching that. The technology is getting scary good far quicker than anyone anticipated. But Figure isn’t alone. A lot of companies are racing to build humanoid robots from companies in China to the current Titans of Tech stateside. In fact, Meta is said to be joining the fray as well recognizing the vast potential and the need to keep pace with Elon Musk’s Optimus Bot.
Daily Jang explains:
“Silicon Valley’s robotics rivalry is intensifying. After Elon Musk released Tesla’s Optimus, Mark Zuckerberg has officially launched Metabot, marking a major step into humanoid robotics.
Unlike Tesla’s hardware-heavy focus, Meta has integrated the high-end artificial intelligence (AI)-driven software, aiming to create intelligent robots that efficiently work to interact, and perceive.
Meta is preparing a universal ‘robot brain,’ a cutting-edge software that runs across a range of machines, similar to how Android does on smartphones.
The open-ecosystem approach contrasts with Tesla’s vision of mass-production of millions of Optimus units within the next five years.
At the core of Metabot is Superintelligence Labs, tasked with progressive AI for navigation, decision-making in real-world environments.”
All in all, as this technology improves and models start hitting shelves it’s likely that demand is going to skyrocket. Especially once influencers and early adopters start using them and show people just how great and helpful they are. Just from the demo video above people are already clamoring for them, wanting robots in their homes that can cook and clean for them and do all their chores and housework.
It some ways it doesn’t feel like AI is really here yet. You here about it all the time and chatbots like ChatGPT have arrived in full force but we don’t really see and feel AI in our day to day lives. But once Figures start showing up everywhere the future will very much feel like its arrived.
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