The $20,000 NEO humanoid robot pre-order has drawn massive online attention, but it has also polarized the tech community, pitting proponents of its transparent, human-in-the-loop strategy against critics—including rival CEOs—who label it an unfinished ''hype reel''.
Speaking at an NVIDIA GTC panel, Figure CEO Brett Adcock dismissed teleoperation as "soy stuff" and claimed the real race is for general-purpose AI, not manufacturing, in the US vs. China competition.
With pre-orders for its $20,000 NEO robot open, 1X is transparent about its strategy: early adopters will use a human-piloted "Expert Mode" to help train the robot's AI, a "social contract" built on a surprisingly lightweight, tendon-driven body.
Speaking at MIT, Yann LeCun argued the "big secret" of the humanoid industry is that companies lack the fundamental AI breakthroughs—specifically "world models"—needed to make robots "generally useful" in domestic settings.
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