Inside Figure's Factory: Where Robots Build Other Robots

Figure AI has opened what it calls the world's first fully automated humanoid robot factory, where a workforce of Figure 02 robots assembles the actuators, joints, and chassis that will become future generations of Figure machines. The facility, located outside San Jose, is a striking visual manifestation of the recursive automation dream: robots making robots.

The Facility

The 250,000-square-foot factory currently has 120 humanoid robots working alongside a smaller number of human technicians and engineers. Figure says the robots perform roughly 80% of the assembly tasks, including precision cable routing, screw fastening, component testing, and quality inspection. Human workers handle novel problems, process improvements, and final validation.

"We set out to build robots that could do useful work in the real world. What better test than having them build the next version of themselves?" said Brett Adcock, Figure's founder and CEO.

The Scaling Challenge

Manufacturing humanoid robots at scale has proven harder than designing them. Each robot contains thousands of precision parts, and traditional assembly requires skilled technicians. By using robots to build robots, Figure hopes to break the cost curve and increase production from hundreds of units to tens of thousands per year.

• Current capacity: 500 robots per year
• Target capacity by 2028: 50,000 robots per year
• Cost reduction target: From $250,000 per unit to under $50,000
• Defect rate: Already lower than manual assembly for several subsystems

The Broader Vision

Figure's factory is part of a broader push by humanoid robot companies to demonstrate that their products can be mass-produced economically. Tesla, Agility Robotics, and Apptronik are all building or expanding manufacturing facilities. The winner may not be the company with the most agile robot, but the one that can manufacture it at the lowest cost and highest scale.

Recursive robot manufacturing also raises long-term questions about labor markets and capital intensity. Economists are closely watching whether automation in capital goods production accelerates or dampens economic inequality.