OpenAI Plans to Build Robots That Could Do Physical Work for You

OpenAI, the company known for creating ChatGPT (the AI chatbot millions of people use to write emails and answer questions), is expanding into a new business: building robots. Sam Altman, OpenAI's leader, has announced that the company plans to develop humanoid robots—machines built to look and move like humans. This is a big shift for OpenAI. Until now, the company has focused almost entirely on artificial intelligence software that runs on computers. Building physical robots is a different challenge because it requires hardware—the actual metal, motors, and sensors that make a machine work.

Altman has said that his vision is for these robots to become common enough that most people could own one someday, similar to how many households now have smartphones or computers. Right now, most of the world's robots are factory machines that perform repetitive tasks. What OpenAI is proposing is more ambitious: robots that could work in homes, offices, and other everyday settings where they interact with people. The company has not yet announced a product or timeline, but the commitment signals that OpenAI sees AI and robotics as linked technologies—smart software needs an intelligent body to be truly useful.