US EditionFigure AI sued by whistleblower who warned that startup's robots could 'fracture a human skull'
Gruendel alleges wrongful termination after safety warnings about humanoid robots' lethal risks were ignored and safety measures were weakened following a $39 billion funding round.
- On Friday, Robert Gruendel filed a suit in Northern District of California federal court alleging wrongful termination after raising safety concerns at Figure AI.
- Company documents show Gruendel says executives `gutted` a safety plan he prepared for two prospective investors and ignored warnings not to `downgrade` it, treating his concerns as obstacles before his termination.
- The filing alleges that during impact tests, Figure's 02 model generated force twenty times above pain threshold, fractured a human skull, and caused a quarter-inch gash in a refrigerator door, narrowly missing employees near the test site.
- Figure AI responded two months after its $39 billion Parkway Venture Capital-led funding round, denying wrongful termination and warning the lawsuit risks investor confidence amid Tesla and Boston Dynamics competition.
- The broader market could reach over 5 trillion dollars by 2050, with Figure forecasts more than 200,000 robots deployed by 2029, according to Morgan Stanley.
12 Articles
12 Articles
AI robots with the power to crush skulls? "Whistleblower" lawsuit sounds alarm on Figure AI
The case has been filed in the Northern District of California by Robert Gruendel, a principal robotic safety engineer. He alleges that he was dismissed from Figure AI in September after lodging safety complaints about the company's humanoid robots.Read Entire Article
A former engineer at the startup Figure AI believes their humanoid robots could pose a threat to humans—he even filed a lawsuit against the company. Robert Grundel, the company's chief safety officer, was fired just days after he filed the most direct and documented complaints about safety violations against the company. Grundel... The post "Former Engineer Sues Figure AI, Accusing the Company's Humanoid Robots of Threat to People" first appeare…
Figure AI former safety chief sues for termination over robot deadly harm warning
Figure AI is facing a federal lawsuit after its former head of product safety said he was fired for warning leaders that the company’s humanoid robots were strong enough to break a human skull. The suit was filed Friday in the Northern District of California by Robert Gruendel, who worked as a principal robotic safety engineer. His lawyers said he was removed in September, just days after he sent what he called his most direct and fully document…
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