Robotics Special: Figure drops 03 humanoid robot

Welcome back, Superhuman. Figure AI has finally unveiled its third-generation humanoid robot, and it’s been all the buzz on social media this week. It even nabbed a spot in Time Magazine’s 'Best Inventions of 2025' coverage. Meanwhile, robotics companies are shelling out up to $150 an hour for you to record yourself doing chores around the house.

WHAT’S NEXT

The most important news and breakthroughs in robotics this week

1. Figure 03 finally hits the market (and magazine covers): Figure AI has unveiled its third-generation humanoid robot, designed specifically for mass production. The robot, featured in Time Magazine’s ‘Best Inventions of 2025’, can carry out chores with impressive dexterity. Figure’s new BotQ factory is scaling production to 12K units annually, with mass home adoption just beyond the horizon. Watch it do chores around the home here.

2. Unitree’s robots briefly appear on Walmart’s website: Some on social media noticed that Unitree’s advanced robots appeared for sale on Walmart's US website — the first time Chinese humanoid and quadruped robots were listed on a major American retail platform. Although the listing has been taken down, the move had people talking about the availability gap and price disparities of Chinese robots compared to unreleased American counterparts, like Tesla's Optimus.

3. SoftBank nabs ABB’s robotics arm in $5.4B deal: It’s well above the $4 billion valuation ABB was targeting with a planned spinoff. The acquisition gives SoftBank immediate entry into the $75 billion robotics market, which is growing at 8% annually, with the AI-driven segment expanding even faster at 20%. As part of the deal, over 7,000 employees and key manufacturing facilities in China, the U.S., and Sweden will join SoftBank’s growing automation portfolio.

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ROBOTS IN ACTION

How robots are transforming the world around us

🌊 Deep Dive: Here’s an interesting fact: we probably know more about Mars than we do about our ocean floor. However, that may be about to change. An underwater robot named "Redwing" has embarked on the first-ever global circumnavigation by an autonomous underwater vehicle. It will travel about 45,000 miles over five years, collecting crucial data on ocean temperature, salinity, and marine life migrations.

💰️ Pay Day: Training a robot requires real humans performing everyday tasks on camera. Now, robotics companies like Encord, Micro1, and Scale AI are reportedly paying participants up to $150 an hour to film themselves folding laundry, loading dishwashers, or making coffee while wearing specialized recording devices. With robotics funding hitting $12.1B this year, the premium on human-movement data will only get higher.

🍼 Robo-Baby: Some IVF clinics are deploying advanced robotics to boost success rates for the one in six adults struggling with infertility. The experimental technology uses AI to identify the healthiest sperm from hundreds of thousands of candidates, bringing hope to couples who have exhausted traditional fertility treatments. About 20 babies have reportedly been born through the new approach.

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Everything else you need to know this week

Here are the biggest developments in the robotics space that you should know about:

• Tesla is facing a US government investigation after reports that its self-driving cars violated traffic laws, with 58 incidents affecting potentially 2.9M vehicles.

• DoorDash has partnered with Serve Robotics for autonomous sidewalk deliveries across the US, as part of a multiyear, non-exclusive agreement.

• Intel has unveiled a new Robotics AI Suite software and Panther Lake chip designed for humanoid robotics development.

• Deep Robotics has dropped the DR02, which it claims to be the first full-size, all-weather humanoid robot with IP66 protection for outdoor operations.

• Boston Dynamics has developed a new three-fingered gripper for its Atlas humanoid, helping it better handle delicate and heavy objects.

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ROBOT OF THE WEEK

A robot that caught our eye this week

Conventional ball machines just got benched.

T-Apex’s Tenniix is an AI-powered robotic tennis coach that shoots 75 mph serves and runs 1,000 customized drills tailored to players' skill levels. Unlike traditional ball machines, it can waddle around the court and deliver a variety of shots — from baseline groundstrokes to high lobs.

Check it out on Kickstarter.

ROBO REEL

Watch: Tesla’s Optimus ‘fights’ Jared Leto at Hollywood premiere

Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus made a splashy debut at the world premiere of Disney's "Tron: Ares" in Los Angeles, performing choreographed kung fu moves in a playful "fight" with star Jared Leto on the red carpet.

The viral stunt, part of a collaboration between Tesla, Disney, and Elon Musk's xAI platform, was designed to complement the film's theme of sentient AI entering the real world.

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Until next time,

Zain and the Superhuman AI team