OpenAI (Robotics)
OpenAI's robotics division, building its own humanoid and other robots; Altman expects a demo in 2027
Division of OpenAI · Prototype · Robot foundation model · San Francisco, California, United States · Founded 2015 · openai.com
Part of OpenAI.
Profile
OpenAI's Robotics Division is led by Aditya Ramesh and grew out of the world-simulation research program he ran. Sam Altman says the team designs robot hardware and AI models together, to both program and manufacture robots. He has said OpenAI will "definitely do a humanoid" as well as other kinds of robots, and expects "a cool demo in 2027", though he says robots walking the streets will take a few years longer. In the short term the focus is robots that help skilled workers build infrastructure; the long-term aim is a personal robot for everyone. Its open roles in San Francisco are mostly hardware jobs: motors and actuators, electrical and circuit-board design, test rigs, procurement and robot safety. OpenAI has also invested in Figure and 1X. Figure ended its collaboration with OpenAI in February 2025 to build its own robot AI.
Notes A division of OpenAI with no separate funding; OpenAI's own funding and valuation are not shown because this entry covers only its robotics work. No robot has been shown publicly yet, and the humanoid and the 2027 demo are plans stated by Sam Altman. The founding year is OpenAI's (2015); the current robotics team was rebuilt from 2025.
The week in humanoid robotics, funding and AI, with the sources linked. Free, in your inbox.
One email a week. Free. Unsubscribe any time.
People
As of . X handles are shown only when we could confirm they belong to the person.
Leadership on X
What leadership has posted about robotics, physical AI and world models in the last 30 days.
No posts in this 30-day window.
Replies are included only when they mention robots, robotics, humanoids or AI.
No robotics or physical-AI posts in this 30-day window.
Replies are included only when they mention robots, robotics, humanoids or AI.
Flagship robots
- Humanoid robot (in development) Humanoid
Confirmed by Sam Altman in September 2026 and not yet shown publicly; OpenAI also plans other robot types, including robots for data centers
Hiring signals
- Open roles
- 13Robotics team roles
- Top location
- San Francisco · 100%13 of 13 roles
- Top role area
- Actuators & mechanical3 roles · 23% of 13 engineering & ops
Where the roles are · share of 13 open roles (Robotics team roles)
- San Francisco, California, US100%13 roles
Locations are where the posting says the job is based, not where the robots are built. A posting that lists several sites is counted once, under the first.
Role mix · 13 engineering & ops roles
Show 3 more areas
Roles are sorted into a fixed list of areas by job title. Percentages are of engineering & ops roles.
Notable postings
- JobSenior role in Actuators & mechanical, one of the company's largest hiring areasTechnical Program Manager, ActuatorsSan Francisco, California, US
- JobTypical role in Embedded & electricalPCB Layout Engineer, RoboticsSan Francisco, California, US
- JobSenior role in Software & infrastructureTechnical Program Manager, Robotics InfrastructureSan Francisco, California, US
- JobTypical role in ControlsControl Systems Software Engineer, RoboticsSan Francisco, California, US
- JobTypical role in Manufacturing engineeringManufacturing Engineer, Motors & ActuatorsSan Francisco, California, US
As of . Scope: Robotics team roles. Counts are our reading of public job postings, not company statements.
Scope note Counts only roles posted on OpenAI's Robotics team, read from OpenAI's Ashby job board (jobs.ashbyhq.com/openai). Software and machine-learning roles that support the robotics work may be listed under other teams.
Trademarks
No US filings since 2025 (last checked ). OpenAI's OPENAI name trademark, filed on January 31, 2025, lists humanoid robots among many goods. It is a company-name filing, so it is not listed here. No robotics-specific OpenAI mark has been filed since 2025.
Source: USPTO Trademark Search, matched on the company’s legal names. Rechecked on the 1st and 15th of each month. A filing shows intent to use a name in the US, not a launched product.
Competitors
Companies with overlapping products. Direct = same customers and same job; Adjacent = overlapping technology or market, different focus.
Figure AI
Adjacent competitorBoth are building humanoids run by their own robot AI: Figure AI builds general-purpose humanoids run by its own Helix AI model, while OpenAI is building its own humanoid and other robots, with a first demo expected in 2027.
Generalist AI
Adjacent competitorBoth are building general-purpose robot AI: Generalist AI builds the GEN robot foundation models meant to run on many robot types, while OpenAI is building its own humanoid and other robots, with a first demo expected in 2027.
1X Technologies
Adjacent competitorBoth are building humanoids and aim at robots for people's homes: 1X Technologies sells the NEO humanoid for the home, while OpenAI is building its own humanoid and other robots, with a first demo expected in 2027.
Show 1 more
Google DeepMind (Gemini Robotics)
Adjacent competitorBoth are big AI labs with in-house robotics teams: Google DeepMind develops the Gemini Robotics models, used by partners such as Apptronik, while OpenAI is building its own humanoid and other robots, with a first demo expected in 2027.
Recent news
- — Altman tells Fortune OpenAI expects "a cool demo" of its robots in 2027 and says robots walking the streets will take a few years longer Fortune
- — Altman says OpenAI "will definitely do a humanoid", along with other kinds of robots Sources
- — Altman says OpenAI Robotics is hiring to program and manufacture robots, and that it grew out of Aditya Ramesh's world-simulation research Sam Altman on X
- — Caitlin Kalinowski, who led hardware within the Robotics Division, resigns over OpenAI's Pentagon deal; OpenAI says it has no plans to replace her Engadget
- — Figure leaves its collaboration agreement with OpenAI to build its own robot AI TechCrunch
Sources
- OpenAI Robotics is hiring (Sam Altman on X) (May 31, 2026)
- Sam Altman on Astra, AGI, and the future of OpenAI (Sources with Alex Heath, video) (Sep 1, 2026)
- Sam Altman on OpenAI's next model and the AI backlash (Sources) (Sep 1, 2026)
- Altman: AI Beyond Human Control 'Absolutely' Possible, Vows Safeguards (Fortune, Titans and Disruptors video) (Sep 12, 2026)
- OpenAI hardware and robotics leader quits over military deal she says lacked enough deliberation (The Decoder, with OpenAI's Mar 9 statement) (Mar 9, 2026)
- OpenAI starts with infrastructure robots but aims for 'everyone having a personal robot doing anything they need' (The Decoder) (Jun 1, 2026)
- OpenAI's robotics hardware lead resigns following deal with the Department of Defense (Engadget) (Mar 8, 2026)
- Figure drops OpenAI in favor of in-house models (TechCrunch) (Feb 4, 2025)
- OpenAI job board: Robotics team postings (Ashby) (Oct 21, 2026)
- Introducing OpenAI (OpenAI) (Dec 11, 2015)
Confidence: medium.