The startup Figure Al is raising about 675 million dollars in a funding round 

Tech giants, including Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and others, are investing in a company that develops humanoid robots. This is seen as a push to find new applications for artificial intelligence. The startup, Figure Al, which has support from OpenAl and Microsoft, is conducting a funding round with a goal of raising about $675 million. This comes despite an initial valuation of about $2 billion, according to anonymous sources. Through his company, Explore Investments, Bezos has pledged $100 million, Microsoft will invest $95 million, and Nvidia and an Amazon.com affiliate fund will each contribute $50 million. Figure Al is working on a robot, Figure 01, that looks and moves like a human, and is expected to perform dangerous jobs unsuitable for humans. Other tech companies, including Intel Corp’s venture capital arm, LG Innotek, Samsung’s investment group, and venture capital firms Parkway Venture Capital and Align Ventures, are also investing in the startup. The funding round, which began with Microsoft and OpenAl as initial investors, has drawn a significant influx of cash from other entities, raising $675 million, significantly more than Figure’s initial request of $500 million. The funds are expected to be transferred to Figure AI and formal agreements signed on Monday. The valuation of approximately $2 billion is pre–money, not factoring in the capital that Figure is raising. The Al robotics sector has been very active recently, with other companies like 1X Technologies AS, Sanctuary Al, and Tesla Inc. also working on humanoid robots. Agility Robotics, which Amazon backed in 2022, is testing robots in one of the retailer’s warehouses. Jeff Bezos, the second richest person in the world according to Bloomberg’s billionaire ranking, was the CEO of Amazon until 2021 and remains chairman.