Colin’s Note: This week at The Bleeding Edge, we’re spotlighting companies that are top AI innovators…
So we turn today to robotics startup Figure AI.
Longtime readers know I’ve long been hammering the table on the future rise – and future profit potential – in the intersection of robotics and AI. It’s not all robot vacuums and self-driving lawnmowers.
It’s one of the most exciting sectors investors should be paying close attention to in 2024. And this past week, we’ve seen a huge development in this technology courtesy of Figure AI.
It’s like something out of a science fiction film… And I believe it could be the ultimate convergence of AI technology that we might see in our lifetimes.
Check it out in today’s video… Or read on below for a transcript and a link to a demonstration of exactly the technology we’re talking about today.
Bleeding Edge subscribers, Colin Tedards here. Hopefully, you guys are doing well.
This week is all about innovation in artificial intelligence (AI). On Monday, we talked about how AI agents are taking large language models (LLMs) to the next level.
Instead of simply prompting and the LLM – say, OpenAI’s ChatGPT – responding… AI agents perform like humans do. They problem-solve, they report back, and they work independently.
Today could potentially see the ultimate convergence of AI technology that we might see in our lifetimes.
Many in the industry talk about AGI. That’s artificial general intelligence, or computer systems that have an intelligence level that is believed to exceed humans. But a more groundbreaking aspect of AI that I think will exceed the importance of AGI is just around the corner.
And you’ve heard me talk about it several times here on The Bleeding Edge.
I singled it out as one of the most exciting sectors investors should be paying close attention to over the next 12 months or so. And this past week, we’ve seen a huge development in this technology.
It’s not only groundbreaking, but it’s taking huge leaps, and its development is exceeding even my early expectations.
Of course, we’re talking about robotics.
And that’s not just robot vacuum cleaners or robot lawnmowers. Those are interesting devices, but they’re largely one-dimensional. They’ve also proven to be really bad investments to invest in as well.
However, today we’re talking about startup company Figure AI. We’ve talked about it in the past, with investors that include Nvidia, Microsoft, OpenAI, and others. They released a really impressive demonstration of its AI robot last week.
Similar to AI agents, Figure AI is leveraging the power of large language models. They’ve partnered with OpenAI to make a robot that is far more capable than we’ve ever seen before.
The abilities are almost straight out of a science fiction movie. The robot can listen, communicate, and even understand instructions. It can also reason. It can make decisions in a similar way you and I can as humans.
During the demonstration (you can watch it right here), the robot successfully identified the items in front of it. When the human said that they were hungry, the robot offered them an apple – the only food item available on the desk.
Aside from the computer vision aspect – which is advancing rapidly in large part because of self-driving cars – the Figure AI robot showed dexterity and movement with its hands and arms.
So last month I visited a robotic startup in San Francisco, and I spent several hours there and we discussed the challenges of getting a robot to have human-like controls with its arms and hands. These were engineers who used to work at high-profile companies like Apple.
It’s a very challenging thing. And Figure AI seems to have accomplished two challenges that have limited robotic advancement in the past.
First, with computer vision and communication skills. Now it’s largely leveraging OpenAI and the LLMs that have become popular over the last two years or so.
But, maybe more impressively, the company has also clearly made advancements in robotic movement and control.
Now, I realize – especially to fans of science fiction or the movie business – these types of robots can be a bit intimidating or scary. And there are absolutely safety measures that need to be developed and put in place, especially on the software side. So these robots, as they become more common, stay safe.
But in many ways, there are many new ways this technology can take us back to a way of life that was once more common here in the United States.
One where our city streets are cleaner and safer.
These robots could bring manufacturing back to the United States in a major way as well, allowing factories to run more profitably and around the clock.
And in areas like California – where lawmakers force higher wages which ultimately drive up costs to consumers – robots could help offset some of those challenges.
The convergence of LLMs and robotics technology is the most exciting aspect of AI, simply because it’s creating devices we’ve simply never seen before or only fantasized about in movies.
Figure AI’s demonstration last week proves that the future is coming even faster than I anticipated.
That was The Bleeding Edge for today. We back again later this week. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful week, and I’ll see you again soon.