Meta acquired a startup called Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI) that specializes in developing artificial intelligence for robots, with the aim of solving complex problems in high-value labor markets.
Although Meta was already working on developing hardware and software for robots internally, a company spokesperson explained that its acquisition of ARI would give it deep expertise in designing advanced models for controlling and teaching robots, all the way to controlling full-body humanoid robots.
In a post on the X platform, Xiaolong Wang, co-founder of ARI, said that their team knew from the beginning that success required training a truly versatile physical agent. He added that they now believe this agent will be humanoid, and that development will rely on direct learning from human behavior.
He pointed out that "Meta" possesses all the essential components to achieve this vision.
Wang and the other two founders, Shuxin Cheng and Lyriel Pinto, along with the entire ARI team, will join Meta's "super-intelligence" labs.
It is worth noting that Pinto previously co-founded the company "Vona Robotics", but left it before it was acquired by "Amazon" for its humanoid robotics project.
For his part, Andrew Bosworth, Meta's chief technology officer, stated in 2025 that the company planned to create software that could be licensed to other companies, just as Google does with Android. He explained that software is the biggest challenge in this field, and that the plan begins with developing software capable of being operated by skilled hands, then gradually building the rest of the technology.
It is noted that Tesla has also been working on developing humanoid robots for a long time, and earlier this year decided to stop producing the Model S and Model X cars, and convert the production lines at its Fremont factory to manufacture Optimus humanoid robots instead.
