--- description: Find out why Brett Adcock made TIME’s list of the most influential people in artificial intelligence. title: TIME100 AI 2024: Brett Adcock image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e771359184cc3f1/698a5a9ecabb1d1277e54856/NEW_TIME100-AI-2024-INNOVATORS_Brett-Adcock.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 05, 2024 # Brett Adcock ## Video: See Everyone on the 2024 TIME100 AI List [Watch (HLS stream): See Everyone on the 2024 TIME100 AI List](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kDTs1aRd.m3u8) (1:53)  _Published 2024-09-05. The 2024 TIME100 AI list features innovators, thinkers, shapers and leaders who are making the future of AI._ by [Stephen Thomas](/author/stephen-thomas/) ## Stephen Thomas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  More than 20 million U.S. jobs involve manual labor. Amid growing labor shortages, Brett Adcock’s Figure offers an audacious solution: humanoid robots. The 38-year-old founded the startup in 2022 to create robots that can perform human-like tasks. “The world was built for humans,” Adcock says. “So if we can create a robot that interacts with it in the same way, we can automate a huge range of tasks.” Others seem to agree. In January 2024, [Figure partnered with BMW](https://www.axios.com/2024/01/23/humanoid-robots-bmw-automotive-manufacturing-figure "undefined") to integrate their robots into the automaker’s Spartanburg, South Carolina plant. Weeks later, Adcock raised $675 million for the robot startup from investors including OpenAI, Microsoft and Nvidia, as well as Jeff Bezos. Figure is now valued at [$2.6 billion.](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/29/robot-startup-figure-valued-at-2point6-billion-by-bezos-amazon-nvidia.html "undefined") “We’re in a Goldilocks scenario for AI,” Adcock explains. “This is the first time in human history when this is all possible.” He claims the company’s latest creation, the Figure 02 robot, unveiled in August, can perform 80% to 90% of manual human tasks. Adcock’s vision extends far beyond factory floors. He predicts a future where everyone owns a humanoid robot, revolutionizing labor markets and the global economy. “Eventually, physical labor will be optional,” he says. “You’ll choose to do it, or you’ll ask your Figure robot to do it.” [_Buy your copy of the TIME100 AI issue here_](https://magazineshop.us/TIME100AI "undefined") Brett Adcock: The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2024 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2024/7012726/brett-adcock/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2024/7012726/brett-adcock/"},"headline":"Brett Adcock","datePublished":"2024-09-05T11:03:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T11:54:21.195Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2024/7012726/brett-adcock/","keywords":["Tech"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e771359184cc3f1/698a5a9ecabb1d1277e54856/NEW_TIME100-AI-2024-INNOVATORS_Brett-Adcock.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Stephen Thomas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/stephen-thomas/"}],"creator":"Stephen Thomas","articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e771359184cc3f1/698a5a9ecabb1d1277e54856/NEW_TIME100-AI-2024-INNOVATORS_Brett-Adcock.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2024/7012726/brett-adcock/","name":"Brett Adcock"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the 2024 TIME100 AI List","description":"The 2024 TIME100 AI list features innovators, thinkers, shapers and leaders who are making the future of AI.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/kDTs1aRd/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-09-05T10:50:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kDTs1aRd.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2024/7012726/brett-adcock/","duration":"PT1M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/time100-ai-2024/7012726/brett-adcock/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```