Meta Acquires Assured Robot Intelligence to Advance Humanoid Robotics
Meta has acquired robotics startup Assured Robot Intelligence to accelerate its humanoid technology development and build a foundational platform for the ind...
Key Takeaways
- Meta is positioning itself to become the 'Android of robotics' by developing foundational AI and hardware for the humanoid industry.
- The acquisition of Assured Robot Intelligence brings specialized expertise in self-learning and whole-body control to Meta's Superintelligence Labs.
- This move intensifies the competitive race between Big Tech giants like Meta, Tesla, Google, and Amazon to standardize humanoid robot technology.
Meta Platforms Inc. has acquired Assured Robot Intelligence, a startup specializing in artificial intelligence models for robotics, as part of a strategic push to develop humanoid technology. The acquisition, which closed on Friday, integrates the startup’s team into Meta’s Superintelligence Labs research division to accelerate the development of robots capable of navigating and adapting to complex human environments.
Strengthening Robotics Research
The team from Assured Robot Intelligence, including co-founders Lerrel Pinto and Xiaolong Wang, will collaborate with the Meta Robotics Studio. This studio was established last year to focus on the underlying technology required for humanoid robots. Meta stated that the startup is at the frontier of robotic intelligence, specifically regarding the ability of machines to understand, predict, and adapt to human behaviors in dynamic settings.
The incoming team brings expertise in designing models and frontier capabilities for robot control and self-learning. At Meta, they will apply this knowledge to whole-body humanoid control. Prior to this role, Wang served as a researcher at Nvidia Corp., while Pinto was a co-founder of Fauna Robotics before departing in 2025.
Ambitions in the Humanoid Sector
Meta is making a significant investment in humanoid technology, joining other major industry players such as Tesla Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, and Amazon.com Inc. in the race to build robots capable of performing physical tasks. Meta’s robotics division is currently developing in-house humanoid hardware alongside the AI software that powers it, including sensors and additional control technology.
The company’s long-term goal is to provide a foundational platform for the robotics industry, similar to the role Google’s Android operating system and Qualcomm Inc.’s chips played for the mobile phone market. By developing this underlying technology and making it available to others, Meta aims to create a standard that could be utilized by a wide range of companies. While the acquisition of Assured Robot Intelligence marks a key step in this initiative, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.