Feb 14 (Reuters) -

Robotics startup Figure AI is in talks to raise $1.5 billion

in funding that would value the company at $39.5 billion, with

Parkway Venture Capital expected to lead the Series C round,

according to a person familiar with the matter.

Major tech companies, including Nvidia ( NVDA ), Meta

Platforms ( META ) and Tesla, alongside various

startups, are rushing to make humanoid robots, as advanced AI

models accelerate innovation in robotics and automation.

Companies are betting on humanoid robots to meet potential

labor shortages and perform repetitive tasks that could be

dangerous or tedious such as logistics, warehousing and

manufacturing. Figure AI counts German automaker BMW as a

customer.

Last year, the startup said it raised $675 million in a

funding round, with big-name investors such as OpenAI, Nvidia ( NVDA )

, Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) founder

Jeff Bezos, valuing the company at $2.6 billion.

Figure AI's founder and CEO Brett Adcock said last week that

the startup exited its collaboration agreement with

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, citing an internal breakthrough in AI for

robots.

"Figure's AI models are built entirely in-house, making

external AI partnerships not just cumbersome but ultimately

irrelevant to our success," Adcock

posted

on X.

Bloomberg News initially reported the development and

said that Align Ventures is expected to co-lead the funding

round for Figure AI, along with Parkway Venture Capital.

Align Ventures and Figure AI did not immediately respond

to requests for comment on the report.

Separately, Meta Platforms ( META ) is establishing a new

division within its Reality Labs unit to develop AI-powered

humanoid robots that can assist with physical tasks, according

to an internal company memo viewed by Reuters on Friday.

In 2024, Tesla's chief executive, Elon Musk, said that the

company's humanoid robots, called Optimus, could potentially be

ready by the end of the following year.