Meta reportedly built a prototype humanoid robot called Max with Chinese robotics company Fourier in about three months, according to The Information. The robot is roughly 1.5 meters tall, weighs about 48 kg, runs on Nvidia's Jetson Thor chip, and has a screen for facial expressions, speakers, and five-fingered hands. A second version, Max 2, began development in September with a redesigned torso, improved hands, a projector, and extra sensors for stairs. Meta says the work is internal research and experimentation, not a commercial product.
Meta sees humanoids as a physical body for its AI agent, Muse, and wants robots that can eventually do household tasks. The company has been expanding its robotics team, including acquiring Assured Robot Intelligence in May, and partnering with Fourier gave it faster access to hardware and manufacturing expertise.
The Information reported on Oct 31 that Meta and Shanghai-based Fourier built a prototype humanoid called Max — about 1.5 meters tall, 48 kg, using Nvidia's Jetson Thor chip — and a second version is already in development. Meta confirmed the Fourier work is internal research and experimentation, not a product for sale.
CMeta reportedly built a humanoid robot with a Chinese startup, and there's already a second version.
MMeta? The company that spent years trying to make virtual legs work now has actual legs.
CActual legs, a screen for a face, and five-fingered hands. A robotics account on X rounded up the week, and this is the headline.
MThe Information reports they built it in about three months. That's either impressive or terrifying.
CIt's impressive. Partnering with Fourier, the Chinese firm that already builds GR humanoids, is exactly how you move fast.
MMove fast to what? Nvidia's chip, a body from China, Meta's AI inside.
CThey call the AI agent Muse. The idea is a robot that can eventually do household tasks. I'd rather Meta research it than wait for someone else.
MI get the speed argument. I don't love the supply chain story: the US humanoid push leaning on Chinese hardware.
COh, come on. Every hardware company leans on global suppliers. The question is whether Meta owns the software and the agent.
MAnd the answer is yes for software, no for the body. That's the part that worries me.
CMeta says it's internal research and experimentation, not a product for sale. There's no reason to think they're shipping Max.
MNo official announcement, either. Reuters ran the report but said it couldn't immediately verify all the details.
CFine, anonymous sources. But the second version is already in development. That tells you this is not a one-off.
MMax 2 has a redesigned torso and better hands for stairs. They're iterating fast.
CWhich is exactly what I want from a company that builds VR headsets, smart glasses, and now humanoids.
MOr it's a research project that never leaves the lab. We've seen that movie from Meta before.
CThey bought Assured Robot Intelligence in May. This is more than a lab toy.
MOkay, the team is real. I'll give you that. I just want to see one do a load of laundry, not a demo.
CLook, the US can't do this alone. If Meta doesn't partner, someone else will.
MThat's my point! If everyone partners with China, we lose the body.
CNo, partnering doesn't mean losing. It means learning while you build. You can't just will a supply chain into existence.
MYou can build one instead of renting one from Shanghai.
CThey're hiring a robotics team. This is the early stage.
MOkay, I'll take early stage. But I want to see a US-built Max before I call it a win.
CBy then you'll be arguing about the price.
MThat's the whole industry's problem.
CAnd here's the global version of that same worry. Krosh on X posted an American humanoid and a Chinese one jumping side by side.
MI saw that. The post says both move with ease, but the winner isn't the one who jumps higher.
CRight, it's the one who builds more. The account says Omdia puts it near thirteen thousand, but not thirteen thousand what.
MCould be robots, could be units, could be engineers. The shape of the gap matters.
CWhatever it is, the point is scale. China is building humanoids like appliances.
MAnd the US still leads on the brains. That's the uncomfortable split.
CWhich is exactly why Meta grabbing Fourier for the body makes sense and makes me nervous.
MDifferent robotics fight, closer to home. Ars Technica reports hundreds of Boston Dynamics employees signed a petition to block selling robot dogs to ICE.
CWait, the Spot robot? What's ICE going to do with a four-legged camera?
MOwen Gregorian posted the piece on X. Jeremy Hsu reports employees don't want their tech used for immigration enforcement.
CICE would use it for inspections and surveillance. Spot is a sensor platform, not a weapon.
MChris, once you sell the robot, the buyer decides. Workers are saying they don't want to be in that chain.
CSo every robotics company should refuse sales to federal agencies? That's a strange line for tech workers to draw.
MNo, they're drawing a line for their own employer. That's not foreign policy, that's a job.
CIt's a tool. The same machine can inspect a chemical leak or map a tunnel. You can't control every use.
MYou can refuse a specific sale. That is literally what the petition asks.
CAnd if Boston Dynamics says no, the government buys a cheaper clone somewhere else. The tech doesn't disappear.
MThat's not an argument for doing the sale! If you think the use is wrong, you say no.
CI don't think the use is wrong. ICE is a lawful agency. Selling them a sensor platform is not a moral crisis.
MThe employees disagree, and they're using the one lever they have before the sale goes through.
CThey have a right to petition. Management has a right to weigh it and still sell.
MAnd right now, nothing's final. The petition is circulating, and Boston Dynamics hasn't said what it'll do.