Figure's baby AGI, Meta's China gamble, China 5Xs physical AI investment, and Agility goes to Wall Street

Figure ingests 81 minutes of training data EVERY SECOND, teases 'baby AGI'

Last week Figure CEO Brett Adcock just revealed a huge amount in a company all-hands meeting. It's so much -- and buried in a video -- that it hasn't all hit the news yet. Some of the highlights:

• Figure 04 is in design lock
• The company has more than $2 billion in cash (so it raised money very quietly)
• Its Index platform has collected 37.5 million human videos for training robots
• Figure spent $8.1 million on training data in just one week
  
• The company has built 'baby AGI'

We knew that Figure had signed a massive compute agreement, with an initial $3.5 billion commitment and plans to scale to $6 billion, and we also knew the company had not raised that amount of capital. However, Figure has clearly raised more money very quietly, because somehow it has $2 billion in the bank account after raising just $1.9 billion.

(And spending a lot of it.)

The company is collecting enormous amounts of training data. Enormous doesn't even hit it properly:

“We’re printing eighty-one minutes of data every second,” Adcock said. At that rate, he says, Figure collects a full waking human lifetime every five days.

Adcock also said Figure is tracking 50 different training data companies, but the scope of its Index project to get training data means that it is already getting more data by itself than it could from all those companies combined.

Umm .. wow.

Also ... that data is clearly being put to good use. Adcock teased a new AI model, describing what he's calling "baby AGI." This is physical intelligence that, theoretically, will be a competitive game changer when Figure 04 finally gets released.

The big takeaway? Building the robot body is only part of the challenge. Training the intelligence to make that body useful could be even more expensive.

Want to see where this industry is going? Join us at Humanoid Technology Expo 2027, October 5 and 6 at Stuttgart Messe in Germany. Learn more at HumanoidMegaHub.

And Figure is spending accordingly.

Oh, and 1 last thing: Figure's new hand sounds incredibly. If we can take Adcock at his word, it'll be one of the best humanoid robot hands on the planet.

Schaeffler cuts 3,460 jobs: pivoting from cars to  humanoid robotics

German automotive supplier Schaeffler just announced plans to cut 3,460 jobs and close five European factories. At the same time, its humanoid robotics business has accumulated approximately €400 million in orders, with dozens of robotics partnerships.

Important distinction: Schaeffler isn't saying humanoids are directly replacing those 3,460 employees. The layoffs are driven by an automotive industry in trouble.

But that's what makes this especially significant ... a century-old industrial supplier is shrinking parts of its traditional business while building a new one around humanoid robots. Schaeffler is betting that the next generation of industrial automation can become a serious new source of revenue.

And it's not alone. 

Foundry Robotics just raised $100 million to build more autonomous factories. We're watching industrial capital, expertise, and investment shift toward robotics in real time.

Xiaomi and AGIBOT push humanoids through longer work shifts

Two Chinese companies are testing what humanoids can actually accomplish outside carefully choreographed demonstrations.

1. Xiaomi says its humanoid completed an eight-hour shift at a vehicle factory, sorting dashboard components. It's also testing an embodied AI model in an apartment, performing sequences of more than 50 household tasks.
2. Meanwhile, AGIBOT put six G2 robots through a 24-hour convenience store challenge, making coffee, preparing food, stocking shelves, greeting customers, and cleaning.

Neither test proves that robots can operate independently, reliably, and economically forever. But the tests themselves are changing: Less dancing, fewer backflips and more good old-fashioned actual work.

And that's exactly what we need to see.

Meta builds a humanoid with a Chinese robotics company

Meta has reportedly worked with Shanghai-based Fourier to build a 106-pound humanoid called Max, taking just three months to create the prototype. A second version is already in development.Meta says the robots are for internal research, not commercial sales.

Here's a Fourier GR2, by the way:

Good thing it's "just internal testing," because Washington is increasingly treating foreign-made robots as a national security concern, while here we have one of America's biggest technology companies is collaborating with a Chinese humanoid manufacturer.

On the other hand, that's the reality of this industry. American AI expertise, Chinese manufacturing, global supply chains. Separating those pieces won't be easy.

(Hint to Meta: buy 1X ... you'll get Neo in the deal, and you'll be about a million miles farther ahead.)

Agility Robotics heads to Nasdaq Thursday

Agility Robotics is about to become a publicly traded humanoid robotics company as more than 84% of the votes cast supported its $2.5 billion SPAC merger. The deal is expected to close Wednesday, with trading beginning Thursday, November 5, under the ticker AGLT.

The transaction is expected to bring in approximately $465 million in gross capital.

And I just interviewed Agility CEO Peggy Johnson today about this milestone, the company's future, and what public ownership means for humanoid robotics.

That interview goes live Thursday, the same day Agility is expected to start trading.

Watch for it!

Number of the day: $13 billion

Thirteen billion dollars ... that's how much Chinese embodied AI companies raised in the first six months of 2026, across 322 funding rounds.

That is a staggering 5X the amount raised in the same period last year.

Here's the point: the money is increasingly flowing toward the brains of the robots, not just the bodies. China already has enormous humanoid manufacturing capacity and tons of humanoid robot form factors. But as robot hardware gets cheaper, the competitive advantage shifts toward intelligence.

• Can a robot understand its environment? 
• Learn an unfamiliar job? 
• Adapt without being reprogrammed?
  

Not shockingly, China wants to own that technology, too. And with $13 billion raised in just six months, it's clearly not treating this as a side project.

The global humanoid race is becoming a race for physical AI, not just cool robot bodies.

Sources

1. Figure's latest revelations — HumanoidMegaHub

2. Schaeffler cuts 3,460 jobs and builds its humanoid robotics business — HumanoidMegaHub

3. Foundry Robotics raises $100 million — HumanoidMegaHub

4. Xiaomi's eight-hour factory shift and apartment trials — Pandaily

5. AGIBOT's 24-hour convenience store challenge — HumanoidMegaHub

6. Meta builds a humanoid with Fourier — HumanoidMegaHub

7. Agility Robotics shareholders approve $2.5 billion SPAC merger — The Robot Report

8. China's robot makers have mastered the moves. Now comes the race for brains — Reuters