Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. Humanoid startup Beyond Imagination — backed by famed AI futurist Ray Kurzweil — is reportedly securing a $100M round at a $500M valuation.

Beyond Imagination claims its AI brain can learn any job and master any human tool, promising a leap beyond the specialized robots of today. In an industry often criticized for overhype, can Kurzweil’s proven track record turn this vision into a truly transformative robot?

In today’s robotics rundown:

• Kurzweil-backed humanoid startup eyes $100M

• Figure hits major milestone at BMW

• A startup building ‘lovable’ home robots

• Sharpa’s human-like robotic hand

• Quick hits on other robotics news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

BEYOND IMAGINATION

🤖 Kurzweil’s humanoid startup eyes $100M

Image source: Beyond Imagination

The Rundown: Humanoid startup Beyond Imagination, co-founded by famed AI futurist Ray Kurzweil and scientist Harry Kloor, is reportedly securing a $100M Series B funding round from venture capital firm Gauntlet Ventures, at a $500M valuation.

The details:

• Its flagship Beomni robot is engineered for complex industrial environments, such as pharmaceutical plants and semiconductor manufacturing facilities.

• The bot is equipped with the "Beomni AI Brain," an evolving AI architecture with multiple specialized "lobes" for learning and performing a vast range of tasks.

• The company is also working on Aura, a universal operating system designed to orchestrate collaboration among humans, robots, and legacy machinery.

• Beyond Imagination is actively seeking large-scale deployment partners, with the ultimate goal of transforming U.S. manufacturing productivity.

Why it matters: Inspired by Kurzweil’s vision of human-AI collaboration, Beyond Imagination focuses on developing systems where humans and robots can work together, rather than aiming for full automation. With Kurzweil’s clout and investor support, the startup is looking all set to compete with big guns like Figure and Tesla.

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FIGURE

🔥 Figure hits major milestone at BMW

Image source: Figure / YouTube

The Rundown: Figure CEO Brett Adcock just shared that the California-based startup’s humanoids have completed a 20-hour run of back-to-back shifts on the BMW X3 production line, marking a huge leap for robotics in automotive manufacturing.

The details:

• Figure says that its robots have maintained a rigorous schedule of 10-hour shifts over the past few weeks.

• This marks one of the first instances where humanoids have operated at such length and intensity in such a high-stakes, precision-driven environment.

• Figure’s partnership with BMW began in January 2024, when it announced a commercial agreement to deploy its humanoids at BMW’s Spartanburg factory.

• However, critics have pointed out that details about the deal have been vague, questioning whether Figure had exaggerated its scope to attract investment.

Why it matters: Robots working tireless shifts alongside humans over multiple weeks is a big milestone, with humanoids quickly moving from pilot projects to robust, real-world industrial use. Germany’s auto sector is also known for high labor costs, meaning these smarter robots will make a disruptive economic impact as well.

CARTWHEEL ROBOTICS

🧸 A startup building ‘lovable’ home robots

Image source: Cartwheel Robotics

The Rundown: Cartwheel Robotics—founded by former Boston Dynamics and Disney Imagineering roboticist Scott LaValley—is carving out a unique niche in the humanoid sector by prioritizing emotional connection and companionship over pure utility.

The details:

• Their flagship prototype robot, Yogi, is intentionally designed with toddler-like proportions, a rounded, cuddly body, and an oversized head.

• Rather than the utilitarian or industrial look of most humanoids, Yogi is meant to feel like a character, not just a machine, with expressive movements.

• It is equipped with advanced AI for both natural language and full-body, nuanced communication, powered by Cartwheel’s Motion Language Model.

• Cartwheel’s other new prototype, Speedy, is a more streamlined version aimed at faster market entry, with modular options to embody various characters. 

Why it matters: Cartwheel is exploring a service-based model, where users might subscribe to a robot companion much like a household helper. In a field dominated by industrial ambitions, Cartwheel’s vision of emotionally intelligent, lovable home robots stands out as both ambitious and refreshingly human-centered.

SHARPA

👉🏼 Sharpa’s human-like robotic hand 

Image source: Sharpa

The Rundown: At the ongoing International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Atlanta, Singapore-based startup Sharpa is generating buzz for its dexterous robotic hand, featuring high-resolution tactile feedback and a true human-scale form factor. 

The details:

• The SharpaWave robotic hand features 22 degrees of freedom in a form factor that closely matches the size and proportions of a real human hand.

• Each fingertip features over 1,000 tactile sensing pixels and pressure sensitivity to 5 millinewtons (mN) — outdoing humans’ typical feel levels of 3 mN.

• Sharpa’s advanced hardware and AI-driven learning allow the hand to adapt its grip, modulate force, and even learn new skills from human demonstrations.

Why it matters: Sharpa’s tech directly tackles longstanding industry tradeoffs—many dexterous hands can suffer from poor durability or weak grip strength, but SharpaWave aims to balance dexterity, strength, and robustness for real-world uses. This will be crucial as companies gear up to bring robots into jobs requiring fine hand manipulation.

QUICK HITS

📰 Everything else in robotics today

NVIDIA released a four-stage pipeline called DreamGen, designed to revolutionize robot learning by generating synthetic training data from video world models.

Apple unveiled a novel approach to training humanoids by integrating human instructors equipped with Apple Vision Pro headsets, detailed in a new research paper.

Rainbow Robotics, a Korean robotics spin-off of KAIST’s Humanoid Robot Research Center, unveiled two major upgrades to its RB-Y1 semi-humanoid platform.

Boston Dynamics rolled out Orbit 5.0, the latest software upgrade for its Spot robot dog, further advancing its role in industrial inspections.

Amazon advanced its Prime Air drone delivery service to include the capability of delivering smartphones such as iPhones, AirTags, and other items.

UK and German researchers developed a new simulation method that can test social robots without needing human participants, making research faster and scalable.

A Chinese tech official dismissed fears that humanoids will contribute to mass job loss, stating that robots are designed to support, not replace, humans.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Bloomberg that “the world isn’t ready” for humanoid robots, which he says will soon take on everyday jobs in the real world.

Duke University introduced a new framework called WildFusion, which combines vision, vibration, and touch to help robots perceive environments like humans do.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited Tesla's Giga Texas factory in Austin this week, where he took a ride in a fully autonomous Tesla vehicle.

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Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team