Remember the 2004 movie “I, Robot”. It was a movie set in the year 2035, where “humanoid robots” are common assistants and workers for their human owners. And thanks to a convergence of AI with robotics…, this movie is now our reality…
In September 2022, Tesla’s, Elon Musk unveiled the first prototype, called Optimus. A 5’8” robot designed in a humanoid form. Today, Optimus can perform simple tasks such as taking out the trash and cleaning floors. It’s also demonstrated proficiency in intricate industrial tasks, from assembly line work to operating heavy machinery and safely managing hazardous materials.
Elon Musk himself anticipates Optimus will surpass Tesla in impact. The thing is, Tesla isn’t the only company combining the power of AI and robotics.
Ever heard of Figure.AI?
It’s an AI robotics company backed by heavyweights such as Microsoft, OpenAI Startup Fund, NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions), Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Align Ventures, and ARK Invest.
The Figure team is made up of top AI robotics experts from Boston Dynamics, Tesla, Google DeepMind, and Archer Aviation.
In February 2024, Figure raised $675 million to develop general purpose humanoid robots. These humanoid robots will be deployed into the workforce to address labour shortages, jobs that are undesirable or unsafe, and to help improve global supply chain bottlenecks.
Earlier this year, Figure already announced a commercial agreement with BMW Manufacturing Company to deploy robots in automotive manufacturing environments. The robots will automate difficult, unsafe, or tedious tasks throughout the manufacturing process.
Even Nvidia is betting on AI Robotics…
In March 2024, Nvidia announced the introduction of the “Project GROOT” – a general-purpose foundation model for humanoid robots.
It’s designed to enhance the performance of humanoid robots, alongside a new system-on-a-chip (SoC) named “Thor” for robotic use. The SoC also includes a next-generation GPU based on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture.
Robots powered by GR00T will be designed to understand natural language and emulate movements by observing human actions. It will also enable humanoid robots to quickly learn coordination, dexterity and other skills to navigate, adapt and interact with the real world.
So, what was once a sci-fi concept, is now a full-blown reality. As a result, companies who build AI Robots, the components and the internal technology like chips will be BIG winners. To get a list of these top stocks, sign up to South African Investor.
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