Meta reportedly begins investment in humanoid robots, setting up a showdown with Elon Musk’s Tesla

Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta has started making significant investments in the humanoid robots category and is forming a team with Reality Labs’ hardware division to conduct the work, according to a report by Bloomberg. 

Meta is reportedly planning to work on its own humanoid robot hardware with a focus on household chores at first. Later on, the company plans to make underlying AI, sensors and software for robots that will be manufactured and sold by a range of companies. 

Meta confirmed the creation of the new team on Friday, telling them that it will be led by March Whitten, who recently resigned as the CEO of General Motors. 

Meta’s Chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth wrote in a memo to the employees (via Bloomberg), “The core technologies we’ve already invested in and built across Reality Labs and AI are complementary to developing the advancements needed for robotics,” 

“We believe that expanding our portfolio to invest in this field will only accrue value to Meta AI and our mixed and augmented reality programs,” Bosworth added.

The senior Meta executive also reportedly talked about the company’s advancements in hand tracking, computing at low bandwidth and always-on sensors. 

Meta wants to be Google and Qualcomm of humanoid robots: 

Senior Meta executives reportedly believe that humanoid robotics companies have made progress in hardware and pair that with its own advancements in AI and data collected from augmented and virtual reality divisions could help propell the industry forward. 

Meta aims to provide what Google’s Android OS and Qualcomm’s chips have for the smartphone industry. In essence, building a foundation for the rest of the market. 

Reportedly, the software sensors and computing packages that Meta is already developing are some of the same technologies needed to power humanoids. Meta has already invested billions of dollars in its Reality Labs division which is responsible for selling Quest VR headset and its Ray-Ban smart glasses. Meanwhile, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also pledged to spend $65 billion in building AI infrastructure in 2025. 

Meta’s development of humanoid robots, which is still a couple of years away, could put it in direct competition with Elon Musk led Tesla’s Optimus robot. Notably, Zuckerberg and Musk have had a rough history in the last few years with the tensions boiling to a point where the tech executives challenged each other to a cage match. 

Musk often shares progress of his Optimus robot on X and has said that it would eventually be sold to consumers for around $30,000. Tesla plans to introduce over 1,000 Optimus robots to its manufacturing lines by next year, a move Musk believes could significantly enhance Tesla’s operational efficiency and drive the company towards a $25 trillion valuation.