Figure opens the software path in human robots, betting on $30,000 modular hardware to challenge the closed model

The battle over human-like robots is moving toward a pivotal turn that recalls the historic struggle between closed systems and open platforms. While major players such as Tesla and Figure focus on developing an integrated machine that combines body and brain in massive projects that have not yet reached widespread commercial deployment, Figure Robotics has chosen a different path that offers hardware and software as a modular kit, allowing developers to build their applications and run them immediately in real-world environments.

The company was founded last year by Hua Mai, who sold his previous robotics firm to 1X, and Barsha Bakhitari, the former engineer on Tesla’s Model 3 project. The founders start from the conviction that the breakthrough moment that would make a general-purpose robot automatically adapt to any yet-unfamiliar environment is still ahead, and that large technology firms throughout history, such as Nvidia and Apple, did not begin with fully complex models but started with practical, deployable products and then gradually multiplied their capabilities.

Figure bets on a shift to an open robot operating system that lets developers modify arms and integrate independent AI models

The engineering design of the Figure robot relies on a modular system that lets developers adjust the hardware to suit the task, such as changing arm lengths for different environments. On the software side, the company does not try to monopolize the intelligent brain, but allows field AI models from various leading providers, including Nvidia, Scaled and Physical Intelligence, to run. The company, which previously raised $7.6 million in an initial funding round led by Gradient Ventures, has surpassed the $1 million revenue mark by selling limited quantities of robots that currently work as chefs in restaurants and clean scientific laboratories.

The company's competitive edge rests on two main factors: price and regulatory positioning. The robot is priced at $30,000, roughly half the cost of competing models such as the H2 Edu from China's Unitary. With tightening restrictions on foreign models entering the U.S. market, the company now occupies a unique space as a locally sourced hardware platform for developers. Investors believe the $30,000 robot offers a superior economic equation compared with hiring a human worker whose salary ranges between $50,000 and $60,000 per year, in addition to training and HR management expenses.

This shift from building a complete robot to providing modular hardware platforms reshapes operational and investment priorities in our region. In Gulf markets, where automation projects are expanding rapidly across hospitality, logistics and healthcare, the emergence of a functional robot costing $30,000 breaks the high capital-expenditure barrier and makes automating manual tasks an option for medium- and small-sized companies that previously could only be afforded by large enterprises capable of bearing costly pilot projects.

For development teams and startups in Egypt, the Levant and the Gulf, the separation of the software layer from the hardware layer changes competitive requirements; teams no longer need hundreds of millions in funding to build a robot from scratch. The skill now in demand in the regional market shifts toward training physical AI models and tailoring them to precise use cases, allowing local software firms to enter the robotics sector through applications and specialized services built on commercially available ready-made hardware platforms.