OpenAI’s renewed focus on robotics signals confidence in AI-driven technologies and future advancements.
Summary: OpenAI has reinitiated its robotics team, indicating renewed enthusiasm and confidence in AI-driven robotics technology.
(AIM)—OpenAI, a leading force in artificial intelligence research, has reignited its robotics project after a period of disbandment. This move highlights the company’s proactive response to the burgeoning investment in AI-driven robotics and its steadfast confidence in future technological advancements.
According to Forbes, the swift progression of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and the surging interest in robotics investments have prompted OpenAI to revive its previously dissolved robotics team. This decision underscores OpenAI’s commitment to the future of AI and its confidence in its technological capabilities. Currently, the company is actively recruiting research engineers to rebuild the robotics team disbanded in 2020. Insiders reveal that while details of OpenAI’s in-house robotics project remain undisclosed, a recent job listing indicates new hires will become the “founding members” of the team, which was re-established about two months ago.
Over the past year, OpenAI’s internal venture fund has invested in several companies focused on developing humanoid robots, including Figure AI, 1X Technologies, and Physical Intelligence, which have raised $745 million, $125 million, and $70 million, respectively. Figure AI hinted at a possible robotics project restart during a funding round in February, followed by a video release showcasing a robot demonstrating basic speech and reasoning skills supported by OpenAI’s large multimodal models.
Figure’s robot utilizes OpenAI’s multimodal AI model, possibly the new GPT-4o, capable of processing various data types such as audio, visual, and language. Insiders note that OpenAI does not intend to compete with these companies but plans to coexist, integrating its technology into systems developed by other robot manufacturers. Job listings also highlight that hired engineers will collaborate with “external partners” and train AI models. Despite potential overlaps with companies OpenAI hopes to collaborate with, the company appears prepared for this challenge.
Companies like Covariant, founded by former OpenAI robotics team members, are also developing their own robot training models. Additionally, OpenAI has competed with other firms in this sector for scarce talent. Robotics has been a core part of OpenAI’s mission since its inception. Co-founder Wojciech Zaremba once led a team aiming to build a “general-purpose robot.” In 2019, over a dozen OpenAI researchers published a paper on training a pair of neural networks to solve a Rubik’s Cube with a single robotic hand.
It remains unclear if OpenAI will manufacture its own robot parts, a challenge it has faced in the past. In October 2020, the company abandoned this effort, citing a lack of training data, and redistributed the robotics team to other projects. OpenAI stated that rapid advancements in AI capabilities had shown that alternative approaches, such as reinforcement learning with human feedback, could yield quicker progress. Several former robotics team members continue to advance the company’s technology in various roles.
As AI technology progresses, OpenAI’s renewed focus on robotics will undoubtedly inject fresh energy into the field. The company’s ongoing investment and exploration in AI promise more breakthroughs and innovations in the future.
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Keywords: OpenAI, robotics, AI investment, AI technology, GPT-4o, multimodal models, AI research, Figure AI, 1X Technologies, Physical Intelligence
