Meta to develop AI-driven humanoid robots under new Reality Labs division: Memo
Meta’s internal memo also revealed that the company plans to build “more direct expertise” by developing retail locations similar to the Meta Lab store it opened in Los Angeles.
Following its big bet on artificial intelligence (AI), Meta seems to have set its sight on the next major plunge. If an internal company memo accessed by Reuters is to be believed, the California-based tech conglomerate is setting up a new division as part of its Reality Labs unit to develop humanoid robots, powered by AI, which can assist with physical tasks.
In the memo reviewed by Reuters, Meta’s chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth revealed that the robotics product group would focus on research and development of “consumer humanoid robots” aimed at maximizing its main series of AI foundation models called Llama. According to Bosworth, expanding the portfolio to invest in this field will bring additional value to Meta AI and its mixed and augmented reality programs.
Despite billions in investment from major tech companies and startups into AI-powered humanoids for manufacturing, logistics, and household tasks, progress on the development of robots has been slow. Researchers have found that breakthroughs in language-related AI, which have driven chatbot development, have not necessarily improved robots’ understanding of the physical world.
The memo underscores Meta’s major investment in the Reality Labs unit—dedicated to developing technologies for future growth—despite facing significant financial losses since its inception. The unit incurred a loss of around $5 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, Reuters added.