OpenAI goes head-to-head with Elon Musk’s robot, Optimus, by investing in Neo

OpenAI has just participated in a fundraiser for the development of a new bipedal android, a direct competitor to Tesla’s Optimus. The robot, called Neo, will be developed by 1X Technologies, which is already marketing a first model on wheels.

Norwegian robotics company 1X Technologies, formerly known as Halodi, announced last week that it had successfully raised $23.5 million. This money will be used to finance the development of its next Neo bipedal android.

Much of this funding comes from the OpenAI Startup Fund, the company behind ChatGPT. This could cause tension with Tesla, the android Neo being a direct competitor to its humanoid robot Optimus, even as the animosity between their founders, Sam Altman and Elon Musk, is increasingly palpable. According to a new report on Semaforthe origin of the tensions dates back to 2018. Elon Musk would have liked to take control of OpenAI, saying that the firm would be too late compared to Google, but his offer was refused.

1X Technologies already markets a humanoid robot

Neo will be the second humanoid robot from 1X Technologies. The funds will also be used to increase the production capacity of its first robot Eve, which is also humanoid, but mounted on wheels. It was intended for research before being transformed into a security robot, and the firm ” explores possibilities and applications in retail, logistics and healthcare with leading customers and partners “.

Some might see this as a sign that ChatGPT will invade the real world by taking control of humanoid robots. However, this does not seem relevant for the moment since 1X Technologies is developing its own artificial intelligence for its robots. That said, a collaboration with OpenAI could open new perspectives and perhaps bring a revolution in the field of robotics such as we currently see with chatbots, and accelerate the arrival of truly autonomous humanoid robots.