Boston Dynamics Partners with Former CEO to Turbocharge Atlas Humanoid Learning
Boston Dynamics and RAI Institute: A New Brain‑Boost for Atlas
On Wednesday, Boston Dynamics confirmed a fresh partnership with the Robotics & AI Institute (RAI)—the spinoff of their own AI lab. The goal? To turbo‑charge Atlas, their electric humanoid robot, with smarter reinforcement learning.
Who’s Behind the Move?
- Marc Raibert—former MIT professor, long‑time Boston Dynamics CEO—founded both the company and the Institute in 2022.
- Hyundai, the Korean auto giant, now owns Boston Dynamics (since 2021) and funds RAI. This gives Raibert a sandbox to experiment without commercial pressure.
- Toyota’s TRI is a similar model, and it paired up with Boston Dynamics back in October for large behavior model research.
Why Reinforcement Learning?
Reinforcement learning (RL) mimics trial‑and‑error learning in humans and animals. Historically slow, but simulation magic lets us crank out thousands of trials in VR, speeding things up dramatically.
What the Partnership Gets Done
- Transfer training from virtual simulation to real‑world Atlas trials.
- Improve Atlas’s “dynamic running” and “full‑body manipulation of heavy objects,” juggling legs and arms like a high‑tech gymnast.
- Ease the bipedal challenges of balance, resistance, and motion that make Atlas unique compared to their dog‑like Spot.
Future‑Forward Vision
Raibert says: “Our aim at RAI is to create tech that lets future generations of intelligent machines thrive. Working on Atlas lets us crank up RL speeds on the most sophisticated humanoid out there, pushing both skill range and training efficiency.”
Bottom line: The Boston Dynamics/RAI alliance is a tech‑deep dive into making Atlas not just a pretty machine, but a true learning beast—ready to tackle any task, from the mundane to the wild.
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Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise.
Figure AI Declares Solo Mission – Bye‑Bye OpenAI!
In a bold twist near the close of October, the founders of Boston‑based Figure AI have turned the page on a partnership with OpenAI. CEO Brett Adcock announced that the company will now build its own robot‑specific AI from scratch.
Why go solo?
Adcock told TechCrunch that “to solve embodied AI at scale in the real world, you have to vertically integrate robot AI.” In other words, they can’t outsource the big brains for their lizard‑like robots. “We can’t outsource AI for the same reason we can’t outsource our hardware,” the CEO added.
Built‑in bots beat the game of two‑head extensions
- The team at Figure believes that the smartest models belong to the hardware they’re meant to run on.
- OpenAI’s focus on embodied intelligence has been more of a side‑project – the same reason the world’s best conversational AI (ChatGPT) has its own niche.
- Rumors abounded that OpenAI was cooking a humanoid plan of its own, but the former partnership simply wasn’t a fit.
Humanoid buddies around the globe
Boston Dynamics and the RAI Institute – both groovy in their own right – are busy with custom AI as well. Even though the RAI Institute is a separate entity, it shares the same parent company, the same founder, and likely the same mission.
Bottom line: Figure AI’s new‑school robot game
Figure AI’s keynote takeaway: Keep it tight, keep it in‑house. They are betting on a truly integrated AI that talks to hardware as if they’re one inseparable family, saying goodbye to the most popular AI platform in history.
