It looks like artificial intelligence-powered robots are going to be the next big battleground for the tech billionaires. Bloomberg reported that Meta has acquired startup company Assured Robot Intelligence, which is focused on developing AI models for robots that will eventually power humanoid robot devices.
As per Bloomberg: “The social networking giant closed the acquisition Friday, according to a spokesperson. Meta said the startup is ‘at the frontier of robotic intelligence designed to enable robots to understand, predict and adapt to human behaviors in complex and dynamic environments.’”
So Meta, seemingly, will be looking to build its own humanoid robots in an effort to expand its consumer AI push. This makes sense, with respect to the hundreds of billions of dollars that Meta is investing into AI development, with a view to the technology becoming a transformative element. In order for that to happen, Meta needs a way to integrate its AI systems into people’s everyday lives. While AI glasses are one pathway to this, AI-powered robots could be a longer term application, if these robots are able to undertake manual tasks on a user’s behalf.
Though that would also put Meta on a collision course with xAI, Elon Musk’s AI startup, which is also developing systems that will power its version of humanoid robots for everyday use.
Indeed, Musk is betting the future of electric vehicle company, Tesla, on the potential of AI-powered robots. He said in an interview with CNBC in May 2025 that “humanoid robots will be the biggest product ever,” and that the “insatiable” demand for these robots will make Tesla a trillion-dollar company.
At the same time, developers in China are also building humanoid robots aimed at eventual household use, according to Firstpost. CNBC also reported that Amazon acquired humanoid robot maker Fauna in March.
It seems that all the big tech players are eyeing life-sized robot companions as the next big shift. Though how long consumer availability and adoption will take, if it happens at all, remains entirely speculative, and seems a long way off.
The only real precedent we have for smart, self-sustaining robots in the home are automated vacuum cleaners, which have gradually become a more commonplace consumer device, but even those are far from seeing mass adoption.
The challenges here are both in perception, and the value that these devices provide. Robot vacuums, for example, are handy, and are improving all the time. But after years of development, they’re still nowhere near as effective, nor efficient, as just vacuuming yourself. As a result, manual vacuums are still the primary option that people choose, while there’s also a comfort factor around having a device move autonomously around your house (not to mention privacy concerns related to tracking).
As such, it may take years, possibly decades of development before AI-powered robots are at the level where they’ll be worth their price tags. It will also likely require a generational shift before such devices are even accepted at mass scale.
So while humanoid robots may be the future, the reality is that consumer comfort with them is likely a long way off. That’s not to say that these investments are pointless, but it does seem unlikely that these will become major money-making elements. That may not even happen this century.
Still, the billionaire leaders of big tech firms are always eyeing the next big thing, and none of them wants to let the other gain any ground on a potential product that could change the way people live.
As such, many billions of dollars will likely be poured into AI robot projects, even if the value of such remains distant from everyday consumers.
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