The race to perfect the humanoid shape will become one of the major technological events in 2024. Competition in the space has intensified in the last year as companies such as Tesla, Apptronik and Figure debuted their own systems, while Agility is getting closer to the finish line by announcing a partnership with Amazon to pilot warehouse use cases.
1X is a name, but surprisingly it doesn't get as much column space as most of the companies mentioned above. The Norwegian company made a splash as early as April this year when it announced a financing of US$23.5 million. This is a financing case where "who" is more important than "how much".
TigerGlobal's participation is certainly eye-catching, but OpenAI, the leader of this round of financing, is the most eye-catching. That's understandable, as the company has played a major role in the meteoric rise of generative artificial intelligence over the past year. The underlying technology will almost certainly play a huge role in shaping the future of robotics, and OpenAI appears to have chosen its vehicle.
This week, 1X announced it had raised $100 million in Series B funding, nearly quadrupling that impressive figure. Currently, 1X’s total funding has reached an enviable $125 million.
The company's core business is NEO. The humanoid robot looks similar to some of its competitors. It also aims to solve similar problems - specifically the global labor shortage. The logic is that a humanoid robot is the ideal shape to navigate in an environment built for humanoid robots.
However, there are also opponents. Some consider this system to be over-engineered. Others insist that true universal functionality is much further away than we are led to believe. However, this latter point is one of the key areas where generative AI can shine.
As for where this huge amount of money is going, CEO Bernt Øivind Børnich's answer is refreshing: "This is the first time we are remunerating our team of professionals. Their contribution is crucial to our success."
The funds will also be used to strengthen the company’s EmbodiedAI product and the marketing of NEO.