Meta Acquires Robotics Startup for Humanoid AI Push

Meta has acquired humanoid robotics startup Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI) for an undisclosed sum. The startup's team, including co-founders Lerrel Pinto and Xiaolong Wang, will join Meta's Superintelligence Labs division to advance humanoid robot control and self-learning capabilities. ARI was developing foundation models for humanoid robots to perform physical labor. The acquisition reflects a broader industry race in humanoid robotics, with market forecasts ranging from Goldman Sachs' $38 billion by 2035 to Morgan Stanley's $5 trillion by 2050. Many AI experts believe physical-world robot training is key to achieving artificial general intelligence.