First Lady Fatima Jabbe-Bio of Sierra Leone, First Lady Marta Navrokka of Poland, First Lady Brigitte Macron of France, and First Lady Melania Trump of the United States look at a humanoid robot at the Global Alliance for a Future Summit held in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on March 25, 2026.
Oliver Contreras | AFP | Getty Images
The White House welcomed its “first humanoid robot guest” on Wednesday, as first lady Melania Trump appeared with a robot from robotics startup Figure AI.
The robot, shown in Figure 3, accompanied the first lady on the second day of the Global Future Summit, a gathering focused on technology and children’s education.
According to widely circulated footage of the event, the machine greeted attendees in multiple languages and described itself as a “humanoid robot built in the United States.”
The exhibit was one of the highest-profile exhibitions of humanoid robotics ever in the United States, highlighting how the technology is becoming a national priority in the global technology race. The Chinese government also promoted humanoid robots at highly publicized events this year.
The first lady used the robot to promote artificial intelligence in children’s education, suggesting that robots could one day serve as interactive educators in the home. But Figure AI says its third-generation humanoid can also be applied for more general purposes, such as commercial and home tasks.
The attention from the White House is likely to enhance America’s brand. Nvidia-A lesser-known robotics company compared to the big humanoid companies that powers Figure AI teslaOptimus and Boston Dynamics, but some of the team comes from their competitors and tech giants, including: apple.
A fast-growing upstart
Figure AI was founded in 2022 by Brett Adcock, a technology entrepreneur and billionaire who previously co-founded a publicly traded drone company. archer aviation and Vettery, a digital recruitment marketplace.
Powering the company’s robots is its in-house Helix AI system. This is a visual-verbal-behavioral model that powers the robot and allows it to learn through observation and verbal commands.
Amid growing investor excitement about physical AI, the company announced a Series C funding round in September led by Parkway Venture Capital, including Nvidia, Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, sales force. This brings the post-money valuation to $39 billion.
The funding is expected to go toward the company’s goal of deploying thousands of robots in homes and logistics over the next few years, a goal likely facilitated by significant support from the White House.
Figure AI has already started working with its first commercial customers. BMWis deploying robots for tasks such as handling sheet metal parts in manufacturing facilities.
Ongoing litigation
First lady Melania Trump’s endorsement of Figure AI’s robots as potential educators could prompt a review of the company’s ongoing lawsuit filed last year.
Figure AI filed a lawsuit in November, claiming that the company’s former head of product safety was fired for warning executives that the company’s robots were powerful enough to crush a human skull.
Robert Grundel filed a complaint in federal court in California alleging wrongful termination after he raised safety concerns with CEO Brett Adcock and chief engineer Kyle Edelberg in September 2025.
The complaint states that Figure AI’s next-generation robot moved at superhuman speeds and generated approximately twice the level of force required to fracture an adult’s skull.
Grundel also claimed that one robot made a cut in the steel door of the refrigerator during the malfunction. Figure AI claimed Grundel was fired for poor performance and called the allegations “false.” Figure AI countersued in January, accusing Grundel of failing to do his part to help the company develop safe robots.
The case, which drew attention to broader issues regarding safety standards in humanoid robot development, is still pending.
Technology figures across national priorities
Interestingly, Wednesday’s White House event wasn’t the first time a company associated with Adcock has been given major shine by the Trump administration.
Shares in Archer Aviation, the drone company he co-founded, soared last June after President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a program to facilitate the safe integration of electric air taxis in U.S. cities.
Archer is participating in this initiative and is working on a project that involves aircraft demonstrations. Following an executive order in June 2025, Archer raised $850 million in a registered direct stock offering.
Adcock co-founded Archer Aviation with Adam Goldstein in 2018 and initially served as co-CEO. However, Mr Adcock resigned in April 2022 and resigned from the company’s board shortly thereafter.
Although he remains a shareholder, he no longer holds an active management, board or advisory role at the company, according to investment research platform Business Quant.
