First Lady of Sierra Leone Fatima Jabbe-Bayo, Polish First Lady Marta Nawrocka, First Lady of France Brigitte Macron and US First Lady Melania Trump look at a humanoid robot during the Fostering the Future Together global coalition summit in the East Room of the White House on March 25, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Oliver Contreras | AFP | getty images
The White House hosted its “first humanoid robot guest” on Wednesday, with first lady Melania Trump appearing alongside a robot from robotics upstart Figure AI.
The robot, identified as Figure 3, was with the First Lady on the second day of the Fostering the Future Together global coalition summit, a gathering focused on technology and children’s education.
According to widely circulated reports, the machine greeted attendees in multiple languages ​​and described itself as “a humanoid built in the United States.” footage From the incident.
The demonstration represents one of the highest-profile showcases of humanoid robotics in the US to date and highlights how the technology is becoming a national priority amid intense global technological competition. Beijing has also promoted humanoid robots in highly publicized events this year.
The First Lady used robots to promote artificial intelligence in children’s education, suggesting that robots could one day act as interactive teachers at home. However, Chitra AI says its third-generation humanoids are also applicable for more general purposes, including commercial and domestic tasks.
White House spotlight likely to boost brand NVIDIA-Supported figure AI, a lesser-known robot company than the big humanoid players like TeslaOptimus and Boston Dynamics, although some of its team comes from those competitors as well as tech giants Apple.
a rising beginning
Figure AI was founded in 2022 Brett Adcock, a tech entrepreneur and billionaire Who co-founded the first publicly traded drone company Archer Aviation and Vetri, a digital hiring marketplace.
Powering its robots is the company’s in-house Helix AI SystemA vision-language-action model that powers its robots and enables them to learn through observation and verbal commands.
The company raises more than $1 billion amid growing investor enthusiasm for physical AI. Series C funding round on September Led by Parkway Venture Capital with participation from other notable investors such as Nvidia, Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and sales force. This gave it a post-money valuation of $39 billion.
The fundraising is expected to be used towards the company’s goal of deploying thousands of robots in homes and logistics in the coming years – a goal likely made easier by a major endorsement from the White House.
Figure AI begins work with its first commercial customer BMWis deploying its robots for tasks such as handling sheet metal parts in manufacturing facilities.
ongoing case
It’s possible that Melania’s endorsement of Figure AI’s robots as potential teachers will trigger a reexamination of the ongoing lawsuit the company found itself in last year.
Robert Gruendel filed a complaint in federal court in California in September 2025 claiming wrongful termination after raising safety concerns with CEO Brett Adcock and chief engineer Kyle Adelberg.
The lawsuit says Figure AI’s next-generation robots move at superhuman speed and generate force nearly twice the level needed to fracture an adult human skull.
Gruendel also alleged that a robot had created a gash in a steel refrigerator door during a malfunction. Figure AI argues that Gruendel was fired for poor performance, and calls the allegations “false”. Chitra AI countered In January, he said Gruendel had failed in his role to help the company create a safer robot.
The lawsuit drew attention to broader questions about safety standards in humanoid robotics development and is still pending.
A technical person in national priorities
Interestingly, the White House event on Wednesday was not the first time an Adcock-linked company has received a major glare from the Trump administration.
Shares of Archer Aviation, the drone company he co-founded, surged in June last year after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the establishment of a program to promote the safe integration of electric air taxis in US cities.
Archer is participating in this initiative and working on projects related to aircraft performance. After the June 2025 executive order, 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, Adcock stepped down in April 2022 and resigned from the company’s board of directors shortly thereafter.
he remains a shareholder, according to investment research platform business quantBut he does not hold any active executive, board or advisory position in the company.
