Meta Platforms completed the acquisition of Assured Robot Intelligence on May 1, 2026 for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition brings the startup developing artificial intelligence models for robots into Meta’s Superintelligence Labs research division as part of a major initiative to build humanoid technology.
Meta described the San Diego and New York-based startup as operating at the frontier of robotic intelligence designed to enable robots to understand, predict and adapt to human behaviors in complex and dynamic environments.
The Assured Robot Intelligence team including co-founders Lerrel Pinto, Xiaolong Wang and Xuxin Cheng will join Meta’s artificial intelligence research division where they will bring deep expertise in designing models and frontier capabilities for robot control and self-learning to whole-body humanoid control.
Wang previously worked as a researcher at NVIDIA while Pinto co-founded Fauna Robotics before departing in 2025, with Amazon acquiring Fauna in March 2026 demonstrating broader industry momentum toward physical artificial intelligence applications.
Meta’s robotics team is working on in-house humanoid hardware along with the underlying artificial intelligence that powers it, developing sensors, software and other technology for robots that the company plans to make available to others in the industry. Rather than competing primarily in end-user robot sales, Meta envisions its role as an enabling platform for the robotics industry comparable to the role Android and Qualcomm’s processors played in mobile computing.
The acquisition aligns with Meta’s broader investment in artificial intelligence following the company’s announcement in late April 2026 raising its capital spending forecast to between $125 billion and $145 billion for the year.
The startup had been building foundation models for humanoid robots to perform various types of physical labor including household chores, addressing critical challenges in high-value labor markets where physical automation could provide significant economic value.
