Meta Unveils "Metabot" Humanoid Robotics Effort

Meta has launched an internal robotics research effort — building a humanoid “Metabot” — that CTO Andrew Bosworth described as the company’s next “AR‑size bet,” implying the project could consume billions in spending. Bosworth told The Verge he believes the hardware is tractable but that software — especially dexterous manipulation — is the real bottleneck: “I’m not saying the hardware isn’t also hard, but it’s not the bottleneck. The bottleneck is the software.”

Meta plans to pair its robotics group with its new Superintelligence AI lab (led by ex‑Scale CEO Alexandr Wang) to build a “world model” and the simulation/data needed to teach delicate hand tasks. Rather than focus on making and selling robots, Bosworth envisions licensing a software platform to manufacturers — analogous to how Google licenses Android — with hardware makers meeting specified specs. Marc Whitten is running the robotics team, and Meta has hired noted roboticists including Sangbae Kim; other leaders include Jinsong Yu and Ning Li.

Bosworth contrasted Meta’s approach with Tesla’s Optimus strategy, expressing skepticism that Tesla can collect sufficient robotic data at scale. He also noted Meta is evaluating silicon and ecosystem partners (Nvidia, Qualcomm) and downplayed the need for ultra‑human hands — “two thumbs would be nice.”

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