Altman outlined the timetable in a September interview, describing an impressive demonstration next year while cautioning that robots operating routinely in public spaces would take several more years. His remarks establish a development target rather than a commercial launch date.
The ChatGPT developer has not unveiled a complete robot, disclosed its specifications or identified a manufacturing partner. Nor has it announced pricing, production volumes or a timetable for customers to obtain the proposed machine.
Altman had separately confirmed plans to build humanoids during an interview on the Sources podcast. He said OpenAI intended to explore other robotic configurations, suggesting that its ambitions extend beyond a single human-shaped device.
The decision marks a change in OpenAI’s position within the robotics industry. The company previously invested in developers of humanoid machines and supplied artificial intelligence technology to partners rather than committing publicly to manufacture a competing robot itself.
Among those businesses is Figure AI, which once collaborated with OpenAI on integrating advanced models into humanoid systems. Figure subsequently ended that collaboration, saying it had developed its own integrated artificial intelligence approach. The companies could now pursue overlapping markets, although neither has established that their planned products will offer equivalent capabilities.
OpenAI also supported 1X Technologies, another developer pursuing robots intended for human environments. Its move into hardware introduces potential competition with businesses whose development it helped finance, but investment relationships alone do not establish the extent of any continuing commercial ties.
The company has been expanding its robotics recruitment, seeking expertise beyond the software engineering associated with language models. Positions have covered actuators, mechanical systems, controls, firmware, manufacturing and supply chains, indicating work on the physical components needed to build and operate machines.
Such hiring does not establish how far a functioning prototype has progressed. A demonstration could involve a controlled environment or a narrowly defined task, and Altman has not specified what capabilities the proposed 2027 presentation would show.
OpenAI’s challenge is to translate advances in artificial intelligence into dependable physical behaviour. Robots must interpret changing surroundings, manipulate objects, maintain balance and respond safely when conditions depart from their training examples. Performance in a laboratory may not translate directly into sustained operation in workplaces or homes.
Altman has emphasised the importance of the intelligence controlling a robot, rather than treating the humanoid body as the decisive breakthrough. His argument reflects the company’s strength in developing models that interpret information and follow instructions, although physical movement introduces engineering constraints that conversational systems do not encounter.
The human form also has practical attractions. Altman has argued that buildings, tools and everyday infrastructure are designed around people, making a comparable shape potentially useful for machines expected to work without extensive alterations to their surroundings.
That proposition remains to be tested against alternative designs. Wheeled machines and specialised industrial robots can be more efficient for particular jobs, while humanoids face demanding requirements for power consumption, dexterity, reliability and safe operation near people.
OpenAI’s entry would add another participant to a competitive field that includes Tesla and specialist robotics manufacturers. These companies are pursuing different combinations of hardware, training methods and artificial intelligence, with progress difficult to compare without consistent measures of task completion and autonomy.
The company has previously investigated robotic manipulation, including research involving a robotic hand trained to solve a Rubik’s Cube. That experiment demonstrated techniques for transferring learning from simulated settings to physical equipment, but did not amount to a general-purpose humanoid.
The distinction between demonstration and deployment matters for prospective customers. A machine performing a rehearsed sequence under supervision offers different evidence from one completing unfamiliar tasks repeatedly without assistance. Businesses considering robots for industrial work would also need information about maintenance, operating costs, emergency shutdowns and responsibility for accidents. OpenAI has not published comparable performance figures for its proposed humanoid, leaving its eventual usefulness and commercial position impossible to assess against existing machines on a like-for-like basis.
For now, the announced milestone is a demonstration rather than a product release. OpenAI has not specified where the event would take place, whether the robot would operate autonomously throughout, or what independent testing might accompany the presentation.
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