Meta has developed a humanoid robot with Chinese robotics company Fourier, producing a prototype that the company is using to advance its plans for machines capable of assisting with household tasks.
People familiar with the project told The Information that Meta and Fourier built the robot, known internally as Max, in roughly three months. The prototype weighs about 48 kilograms and stands approximately 1.5 meters tall. Meta is now working on a second version, although the company has not announced a timetable for selling a robot to consumers.
A test bed for Meta’s robotics plans
Meta’s immediate objective was to create a functioning machine that could serve as a foundation for a more advanced consumer device. The project represents the clearest physical result so far of the company’s robotics push, which took shape after Meta launched its Meta Robotics Studio early last year.
The company also brought in a former leader of Cruise, General Motors’ autonomous-vehicle division, to head the effort. Meta has been developing both the machines and the artificial-intelligence systems intended to control them. In May, it acquired Assured Robot Intelligence, a startup working on AI models designed to help robots interpret human behavior and adjust to changing surroundings.
- Robot: Max, an internal prototype developed by Meta and Fourier
- Development time: About three months
- Size: Approximately 1.5 meters tall and 48 kilograms
- Commercial timing: No launch schedule has been announced
Meta’s interest in household robotics has also been linked to its consumer AI work. People familiar with the company’s internal plans said Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth described humanoid robots as a physical form of Muse, Meta’s consumer AI agent. The comparison reflects the company’s effort to connect software that can understand people with hardware that can operate around them.
Work with Fourier
Building Max required Meta’s robotics team to work directly with Fourier in China. Meta Vice President of Robotics Products Li-Chen Miller spent nearly two months at Fourier’s factory in Shanghai and participated in the joint development effort.
The prototype was demonstrated to some Meta employees at an internal robotics summit at the end of August, according to two people familiar with the project. Max currently operates using an NVIDIA Jetson Thor processor. The companies’ work gives Meta an early platform for testing how its AI systems might support robots in homes and other human environments while the company continues developing a next-generation design.
