# Does OpenAI make robots?

**Not in the way people mean: OpenAI is not a robot manufacturer, and it has shipped no robot hardware.** On DEPLOY's record there is no OpenAI robot you can buy and no robot model to point to. But OpenAI is building toward one: in May 2026 it announced an in-house robotics division, OpenAI Robotics, it ran an earlier robotics team that built the Dactyl hand, and it has backed the robot makers 1X, Figure AI, and Physical Intelligence.

Last verified May 31, 2026. 12 sources.

## Short answer

OpenAI makes AI models, not robots. On DEPLOY's record there is no OpenAI robot you can buy, and OpenAI ships no robot-shaped model at all. The honest answer is a qualified no, and it comes in three parts, each read from the record.

First, the direction of travel: in May 2026 Sam Altman announced an in-house robotics division called OpenAI Robotics, led by Aditya Ramesh, with the stated aim of bringing the intelligence of OpenAI's video and world models into physical robots. As of the announcement the division exists and is hiring, but it has shipped no hardware, and its strategy and timeline are stated aspirations attributed to OpenAI, not demonstrated outcomes.

Second, the history: OpenAI ran a robotics research team from around 2017 that built the Dactyl hand and solved a Rubik's cube one-handed in 2019, then disbanded that team around 2021.

Third, and most concrete, OpenAI has been a robotics investor rather than a maker: its venture arm led 1X Technologies' 2023 round and it has backed 1X again, Figure AI, and Physical Intelligence, each a dated, sourced funding round in the ledger below. So OpenAI shapes robots through its models and its money, but on the record it does not manufacture one.

## What OpenAI actually makes, and what it does not

Read live from the registry: OpenAI ships no robot-shaped model on DEPLOY's record. In May 2026 it announced an in-house robotics division, OpenAI Robotics, but that division has shipped no hardware. OpenAI makes AI models; its robotics role so far is through its models and its investments, not manufacturing.

## OpenAI's robotics investments

The most concrete part of the answer. Every funding round OpenAI joined that DEPLOY holds, newest first. The round size is the total size of the round, not OpenAI's individual stake, which is not disclosed.

| Company | Round | OpenAI's role | Round size | Announced |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Physical Intelligence | Series B | Participant | $600M | Nov 20, 2025 |
| Figure AI | Series B | Strategic investor | $675M | Feb 29, 2024 |
| 1X Technologies | Series B | Participant | $100M (reported) | Jan 11, 2024 |
| 1X Technologies | Series A2 | Lead investor | $24M | Mar 1, 2023 |

## OpenAI's robotics arc

How OpenAI got here, each step dated and sourced, newest first.

| When | What happened | Posture | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| May 31, 2026 (as reported) | OpenAI announces an in-house robotics division, OpenAI Robotics. Sam Altman announced OpenAI Robotics on X, stating the division evolved over the prior year from OpenAI's Worldsim research and is actively hiring hardware, systems, and ML engineers, led by Aditya Ramesh. On the record the division exists and is hiring, but it has shipped no hardware, and its strategy and timeline are stated aspirations, attributed to OpenAI, not demonstrated outcomes. | Company announcement | [Sam Altman (X, official)](https://x.com/sama/status/2061117302528188712) (2026-05-31), [OpenAI (careers)](https://openai.com/careers/search/) (2026-05-31) |
| Mar 7, 2026 (as reported) | Robotics and hardware lead Caitlin Kalinowski resigns. Caitlin Kalinowski, who had led OpenAI's robotics and hardware effort since November 2024, resigned, citing concerns about surveillance and lethal autonomous weapons tied to OpenAI's Pentagon work, as reported by Fortune. The later May 2026 relaunch is led by Aditya Ramesh. | Reported | [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/03/07/openai-robotics-leader-caitlin-kalinowski-resignation-pentagon-surveillance-autonomous-weapons-anthropic/) (2026-03-07) |
| Feb 4, 2025 (as reported) | Figure AI ends its OpenAI partnership, moving to in-house models. Figure AI, the humanoid maker OpenAI had backed and signed a collaboration agreement with in 2024, dropped OpenAI in favor of its own in-house models, ending that partnership, as reported by TechCrunch. OpenAI's investment in the Series B is a separate fact and stands on the record. | Reported | [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/04/figure-drops-openai-in-favor-of-in-house-models/) (2025-02-04) |
| Nov 5, 2024 (as reported) | OpenAI hires Caitlin Kalinowski to lead robotics and hardware. OpenAI hired Caitlin Kalinowski, the former head of Meta's Orion hardware program, to lead its robotics and hardware efforts, an early signal of the in-house rebuild after the 2021 hiatus, as reported by CNBC. | Reported | [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/05/openai-hires-metas-former-orion-head-to-lead-its-robotics-efforts.html) (2024-11-05) |
| Feb 29, 2024 (as reported) | OpenAI backs Figure AI's Series B and signs a collaboration agreement. OpenAI joined Figure AI's $675 million Series B and signed a collaboration agreement to build AI models for Figure's humanoid, the closest OpenAI came to putting its models in a physical robot. The partnership later ended in February 2025 when Figure moved to in-house models. | Reported | [Figure (PR Newswire)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/figure-raises-675m-at-2-6b-valuation-and-signs-collaboration-agreement-with-openai-302074897.html) (2024-02-29) |
| Mar 1, 2023 (as reported) | OpenAI Startup Fund leads 1X Technologies' Series A2, its first robot-maker bet after the hiatus. OpenAI's venture arm, the OpenAI Startup Fund, led the $23.5 million Series A2 of 1X Technologies, a Norwegian and US humanoid maker, its first robot-maker investment after disbanding the internal team, as reported by 1X. | Reported | [1X Technologies](https://www.1x.tech/discover/1x-rasies-23-5m-in-series-a2-funding-led-by-open-ai) (2023-03-01) |
| Oct 15, 2019 (as reported) | OpenAI's first robotics era: the Dactyl hand solves a Rubik's cube, then the team is disbanded. OpenAI's original robotics team, formed around 2017, built the Dactyl hand for in-hand manipulation (2018) and used it to solve a Rubik's cube one-handed in 2019, its first-era peak. OpenAI then disbanded the robotics team around 2021, with cofounder Wojciech Zaremba citing insufficient training data pending mature world models. OpenAI Robotics is the in-house relaunch of this line. | Reported and confirmed | [OpenAI (official)](https://openai.com/index/solving-rubiks-cube/) (2019-10-15), [MIT Technology Review](https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/10/15/75292/a-robot-hand-taught-itself-to-solve-a-rubiks-cube-after-creating-its-own-training-regime/) (2019-10-15), [VentureBeat](https://venturebeat.com/business/openai-disbands-its-robotics-research-team) (2021-07-16) |

## How we know this

- [The Robot Report](https://www.therobotreport.com/physical-intelligence-raises-600m-advance-robot-foundation-models/)
- [Figure / PR Newswire (official)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/figure-raises-675m-at-2-6b-valuation-and-signs-collaboration-agreement-with-openai-302074897.html)
- [1X (official)](https://www.1x.tech/discover/1x-secures-100m-in-series-b-funding)
- [1X (official)](https://www.1x.tech/discover/1x-rasies-23-5m-in-series-a2-funding-led-by-open-ai)
- [Sam Altman (X, official)](https://x.com/sama/status/2061117302528188712) (2026-05-31)
- [OpenAI (careers)](https://openai.com/careers/search/) (2026-05-31)
- [Fortune](https://fortune.com/2026/03/07/openai-robotics-leader-caitlin-kalinowski-resignation-pentagon-surveillance-autonomous-weapons-anthropic/) (2026-03-07)
- [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/04/figure-drops-openai-in-favor-of-in-house-models/) (2025-02-04)
- [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/05/openai-hires-metas-former-orion-head-to-lead-its-robotics-efforts.html) (2024-11-05)
- [OpenAI (official)](https://openai.com/index/solving-rubiks-cube/) (2019-10-15)
- [MIT Technology Review](https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/10/15/75292/a-robot-hand-taught-itself-to-solve-a-rubiks-cube-after-creating-its-own-training-regime/) (2019-10-15)
- [VentureBeat](https://venturebeat.com/business/openai-disbands-its-robotics-research-team) (2021-07-16)

## Common questions

### Does OpenAI build its own robots?

Not on DEPLOY's record. OpenAI ships no robot-shaped model, and there is no OpenAI robot you can buy. In May 2026 it announced an in-house robotics division, OpenAI Robotics, but as of that announcement the division has shipped no hardware, and its capability and timeline claims are stated aspirations attributed to OpenAI, not demonstrated products.

### What robots has OpenAI made?

None you can point to on the record. OpenAI's clearest robotics artifact is historical: the Dactyl hand its original robotics team built, which solved a Rubik's cube one-handed in 2019. That team was disbanded around 2021. OpenAI has not shipped a robot product since, and it makes no robot-shaped model on DEPLOY's record today.

### Did OpenAI invest in Figure or 1X?

Yes. On DEPLOY's record OpenAI's venture arm led 1X Technologies' 2023 Series A2 and joined its 2024 Series B, and OpenAI backed Figure AI's $675 million Series B in February 2024 alongside a collaboration agreement. That OpenAI and Figure partnership later ended in February 2025 when Figure moved to in-house models. OpenAI has also backed Physical Intelligence. Each round is dated and sourced in the ledger on this page.

### Is OpenAI Robotics a real company?

It is a real in-house division of OpenAI, not a separate company. Sam Altman announced it on May 31, 2026, and OpenAI is actively hiring robotics engineers for it. On the record its existence and hiring are verified through OpenAI's own channels, but it has shipped no hardware, so everything about what it will build remains a stated plan rather than a delivered product.

### Will OpenAI make a humanoid robot?

OpenAI says it wants to. Its stated near-term aim is robots to support skilled workers, and its long-term framing is a personal robot for everyone. But those are aspirations attributed to OpenAI, not products: as of the May 2026 division announcement, OpenAI had shipped no robot hardware and demonstrated no robot of its own. This page updates when the record does.

## Keep reading

- [Which physical-AI companies are worth the most? Valuations ranked.](/valuations.md): Comparisons
- [What AI actually drives each robot? AI stacks compared](/ai-stacks.md): Comparisons
- [Which company is the leader in humanoid robotics?](/which-company-leads-humanoid-robotics.md): Comparisons
- [Which country is no. 1 in robotics?](/which-country-is-number-1-in-robotics.md): Comparisons
- [All verified answers](/answers.md): Every standing question DEPLOY tracks.
- [See the full OpenAI Robotics record](/companies/openai-robotics.md): The verified division record: leadership, the prior robotics arc, and every source.

_Canonical URL: /does-openai-make-robots. HTML version: [link](/does-openai-make-robots)._