Big Robots, Tiny Models & AI That Might Be Too Smart for Its Own Code

Okay folks, let’s start with the biggest (and maybe bendiest) thing in robotics this week—Figure has dropped its newest humanoid robot, the Figure 03! And no, this isn’t just your cousin dressed up in a cardboard box pretending to be a robot. This shiny new guy made it all the way to the cover of Time Magazine, and it's already learning how to fold laundry better than your average teenager.

This robot can walk, talk (kind of), carry groceries, and load dishwashers—all without sighing or asking for pizza money. Figure’s fancy new factory plans to spit out 12,000 of these robo-roommates a year, meaning in the near future you might just have one of these serving you cereal instead of mom or dad yelling, “Get it yourself!”

But wait, the robot invasion (in a nice way!) doesn’t stop there.

Robot Sales at... Walmart?

Unitree, a robot-maker from China, accidentally (or on purpose?) put some of its robot dogs and humanoids on Walmart’s website. Cue the sound of people clicking "Add to Cart” faster than a raccoon diving into a trash can. The listings were swiftly taken down, but it sparked a lot of chatter about how much American robots like Tesla's Optimus cost compared to these international models. Spoiler: the Unitree bots were way cheaper—like, instead of $100K, more like $10K. Bargain bots!

SoftBank Buys Up Robots Like They’re Pokémon

Meanwhile, SoftBank said, “I choose you!” to ABB’s entire robotics division. They dropped a whopping $5.4 billion to catch 'em all. This means they now have over 7,000 new robot pals and a first-class ticket into the $75 billion robotics market. That’s a market with more zeros than I care to count on my fingers and toes combined.

So, basically, SoftBank is now like the Coach of the World Robot League. Watch out, everyone—these bots mean business.

Ocean Robots and Robo-Babies

Let’s dive into some robo-news that’s cooler than a polar bear in shades. A deep-sea robot named “Redwing” is making its way around the globe, all under the ocean. Yup, it’s going full Finding Nemo but with Wi-Fi and sensors. Scientists say it’ll help us understand what’s happening in the underwater world, which, let’s be honest, we barely know anything about.

Also, in news that sounds straight from a sci-fi romance novel, some IVF clinics are using robots with AI to help pick the best sperm for making babies. So now, tiny AI matchmakers are helping make future humans. Weird? Yes. Fascinating? You betcha.

Get Paid to Be Messy!

Do you like folding socks, making coffee, and pretending you’re in a commercial? Good news—robot training companies are now paying REAL people up to $150 an hour to record themselves doing daily chores. Why? Because these robots need to learn how to human better. So put on your fanciest apron, grab a GoPro, and let’s start vacuuming like it’s a talent show.

The Scariest AI Plot Twist: Only 250 Docs Can Poison a Model

Meanwhile, Anthropic discovered something more dramatic than a soap opera cliffhanger: it only takes 250 poisoned documents to mess with mega-sized AI models. That’s like turning a delicious fruit smoothie into fish soup by tossing in a single sardine.

Even models that have read more books than all your ancestors combined can be tricked with a handful of sneaky phrases. Imagine training a genius AI for months only to have it sabotage your emails every time it sees the word “banana.” Yeah...time to beef up digital security, folks.

Other Cool Things to Know Today

• Samsung released a tiny AI model that somehow beat Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro at solving logic puzzles. Think Smart Mouse beats Giant Brain.
• Microsoft is now running the first NVIDIA GB300 super-cluster, which means OpenAI’s future agents are going to zoom like lightning.
• Reflection just raised $2 BILLION to build powerful, open-source AI models that aren’t locked behind corporate doors (hooray for transparency and freedom, kinda like sweatpants).

Trending Tools Worth Checking Out

1. Wispr Flow: Talk instead of type, and this AI will clean up your words as you speak. It's like having a grammar genie in your device. Works in Slack, Notion, ChatGPT—you name it.

2. Tenniix: An AI-powered tennis bot that doesn’t just spit balls at you—it actually TARGETS your weaknesses and serves like it wants to win Wimbledon. Better bring your A-game.

And if you made it this far, congrats—you’re officially smarter than 90% of domestic robots and probably 100% cooler. For more goofy-yet-genius AI updates like this, follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/AddingAI.