Meta buys robotic startup to bolster its humanoid AI ambitions

Meta has acquired humanoid robotics startup Assured Robot Intelligence, bringing co-founders Xiaolong Wang (ex-Nvidia researcher, UC San Diego professor) and Lerrel Pinto (ex-NYU, previously founded Fauna Robotics before Amazon acquired it) into its Superintelligence Labs division. ARI developed foundation models for humanoid robots capable of diverse physical tasks. The acquisition strengthens Meta's multi-year push toward consumer-ready humanoid robotics.