1X Technologies, a Norwegian start-up that specializes in the development of humanoid robots, has received a US$23.5 million investment from OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. The investment will allow the start-up to produce new androids on a commercial scale. Their latest project, a bipedal robot called NEO, is designed to accompany human workers in warehouse settings and help alleviate labor shortages.
NEO is intended to be autonomous and able to adapt to different environments. While there is no indication that it will be equipped with a ChatGPT-inspired form of intelligence, 1X Technologies may be able to draw on OpenAl’s expertise to improve Neo’s knowledge and performance.
The development of artificial intelligence and humanoid robots is an area where many cutting-edge projects are pushing new boundaries. There are already many projects underway, including the start-up Figure’s humanoid robot that combines human-like dexterity with artificial intelligence, Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot that can handle heavy loads, Xiaomi’s CyberOne robot that can perceive 3D space and human gestures and emotions, and Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot project.
With OpenAl’s investment, 1X Technologies may be able to develop NEO to be an advanced autonomous robot capable of adapting to different practical applications. While the competition is tough, the potential for innovation and advancement in this field is high.
