--- title: "BMW counted Figure robots one at a time. The valuation is priced on 100,000" description: "Figure is back in market for $1.5 billion near a $39.5 billion mark, with Nvidia reportedly weighing another $1 billion. The customer counts beneath that mark, on BMW's own statements, top out at three robots." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Money" published: 2026-10-12T15:23:53.982Z modified: 2026-10-12T15:23:53.982Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/bmw-counted-figure-robots-one-at-a-time-the-valuation-is-priced-on-100-000 language: en keywords: "Figure AI, Humanoid Robots, Venture Capital, Nvidia, BMW, Valuation" --- # BMW counted Figure robots one at a time. The valuation is priced on 100,000 > Figure is back in market for $1.5 billion near a $39.5 billion mark, with Nvidia reportedly weighing another $1 billion. The customer counts beneath that mark, on BMW's own statements, top out at three robots. ## New money at a year-old mark Figure is in talks to raise $1.5 billion at a valuation near $39.5 billion, [Reuters reported on October 8](https://startupfortune.com/boston-dynamics-names-amazons-alexa-chief-rohit-prasad-as-ceo/) [1], days after [The Information reported](https://www.humanoidsdaily.com/news/nvidia-figure-billion-investment-talks-report) that [Nvidia](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/nvidia) has discussed another $1 billion at about $38 billion before new money [2]. Neither is a closed round. The mark being tested is the one set in September 2025, when [the Series C closed at $39 billion](https://www.forbes.com.au/news/innovation/brett-adcock-net-worth-figure-ai-humanoid-robots/), up from $2.6 billion nineteen months earlier [3]. Figure has raised about $1.9 billion in its life [4] and never disclosed material revenue; [third-party analysts estimate the low tens of millions](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/322574/20260731/unitree-ipo-subscription-opens-profitable-robot-maker-vs-39b-no-revenue-figure-ai.htm) [5]. *Chart: **A 15-fold mark-up in 19 months, and the new round barely moves the mark** Column chart of Figure's valuation: $2.6 billion in February 2024, $39 billion in September 2025, and $39.5 billion in reported October 2026 talks.* *Post-money valuation by round, in billions of dollars; the October 2026 column is a reported term under discussion, not a closed round. [1][3][4]* ## What BMW actually counted The deployment story under that mark is BMW's Spartanburg plant, and BMW's account keeps narrowing. The 2025 pilot ran one robot at a time, a second rotating in while the first charged, though it moved some 90,000 parts and helped build roughly 30,000 X3 SUVs [3]. Adcock told Forbes he thinks "six or eight" robots are onsite and is "pretty sure" BMW is paying, points he wanted to check with his press team [3]. The June return, on BMW's account, was a non-production test involving two or three robots, and it has ended: no Figure robots work at the plant, and of the four robots in the promotional video, one did the job [3]. BMW will not say whether money changed hands [3]. *Chart: **BMW's robot counts sit beside the 100,000-robot path that set the price** Bar chart comparing robots BMW confirms, one in the 2025 pilot and up to three in the June 2026 test, against a projected 100,000-robot four-year path.* *Robots per BMW statements to Forbes in October 2026; BMW said the June test involved two or three robots, and the bar shows the top of that range. The 100,000 figure is the deployment path in an Align Ventures SPV memo reported by Forbes, a projection, not a deployment. [3]* ## The memo that set the price Last year's round reserved as much as $1.2 billion for Parkway and Align, two small firms that filled their allocations with special-purpose vehicles, some taking checks from $100,000 [3]. An Align memo told those buyers a path to 100,000 robots over four years would be "$9b in ARR under current pricing assumptions", annual recurring revenue [3]. The second named customer, reported to be UPS, declined to comment; the Teamsters union says UPS never notified it of Figure testing, which it says is required [3]. [OpenAI](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/openai) walked after what it calls Figure's "consistent failure to meet the deliverables required" [3]. Adcock threatened defamation claims over similar reporting in April 2025 and never said publicly what was false [6]. ## The robots are still real The other side deserves its count. BMW confirms the pilot moved some 90,000 parts and helped build tens of thousands of vehicles, work Forbes calls a meaningful accomplishment [3]. [A June BMW Group announcement said Figure 03 robots had commenced logistics operations](https://www.humanoidsdaily.com/news/back-to-spartanburg-figure-03-deploys-at-bmw-for-complex-logistics-sequencing) at Spartanburg, plant vice president Ulrich Wieland on record [7]. BotQ, Figure's robot factory, reports more than 350 third-generation robots delivered against a 12,000-unit annual target, company-claimed, with no commercial-sales breakdown [8][9]. Nscale, a data-center operator, has [committed $3.5 billion of compute](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/326591/20260904/nscale-backs-figure-ai-35-billion-takes-equity-stake-humanoid-push.htm), scalable past $6 billion, on up to 100,000 Nvidia GPUs at its Barstow, Texas site from late 2027 [2][9]. Nvidia holds both ends of the trade, reported investor and chip supplier [4]. The closest public benchmark, Unitree, set a $6.2 billion base valuation for its Shanghai listing on $253 million of 2025 revenue and an adjusted profit [5]. ## What settles it Three readings decide the mark: whether this round closes near it, whether any customer confirms paying for a fleet, and whether the Barstow buildout lands on schedule in late 2027 [2]. One wealth estimate puts Adcock's fortune at $23.4 billion, mostly on the current mark [3]. On the record so far, the two counts do not meet. BMW's numbers count robots that worked at Spartanburg, one at a time in the pilot and at most three in the June test; the 100,000-robot figure is a projection in a sales memo, and the valuation rests on the projection. ## Takeaway Figure is testing a $39.5 billion mark while BMW's own statements put its deployed robots at one to three, and the price rests on a 100,000-robot projection in a sales memo, not on any confirmed paying fleet. ## Sources 1. [Startup Fortune (carrying Reuters' 8 October 2026 report on Figure's raise talks), Boston Dynamics Names Amazon's Alexa Chief Rohit Prasad as CEO, 12 October 2026](https://startupfortune.com/boston-dynamics-names-amazons-alexa-chief-rohit-prasad-as-ceo/) 2. [Humanoids Daily (reporting The Information, 7 October 2026), Nvidia Has Discussed Another $1 Billion Investment in Figure, 9 October 2026](https://www.humanoidsdaily.com/news/nvidia-figure-billion-investment-talks-report) 3. [Forbes Australia, Figure's Brett Adcock sold investors a humanoid future. Now he has to build it., 8 October 2026](https://www.forbes.com.au/news/innovation/brett-adcock-net-worth-figure-ai-humanoid-robots/) 4. [Crypto Briefing, Nvidia discussed investing another $1 billion in Figure AI, 7 October 2026](https://cryptobriefing.com/nvidia-discusses-1-billion-figure-ai-investment/) 5. [TechTimes, Unitree IPO Subscription Opens: Profitable Robot Maker vs. $39B No-Revenue Figure AI, 31 July 2026](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/322574/20260731/unitree-ipo-subscription-opens-profitable-robot-maker-vs-39b-no-revenue-figure-ai.htm) 6. [Humanoids Daily, Figure AI CEO Threatens Defamation Lawsuit Against Fortune Over Partnership Reporting, 25 April 2025](https://www.humanoidsdaily.com/news/figure-ai-ceo-threatens-defamation-lawsuit-against-fortune-over-partnership-reporting) 7. [Humanoids Daily, Back to Spartanburg: Figure 03 Deploys at BMW for Complex Logistics Sequencing, 26 June 2026](https://www.humanoidsdaily.com/news/back-to-spartanburg-figure-03-deploys-at-bmw-for-complex-logistics-sequencing) 8. [eWeek, Nvidia Reportedly Eyes Another $1B Investment in Figure AI's Humanoid Robots, 8 October 2026](https://www.eweek.com/news/nvidia-figure-ai-1-billion-investment-humanoid-robots/) 9. [TechTimes, Nscale Backs Figure AI With $3.5 Billion, Takes Equity Stake in Humanoid Push, 4 September 2026](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/326591/20260904/nscale-backs-figure-ai-35-billion-takes-equity-stake-humanoid-push.htm) --- BMW counted Figure robots one at a time. The valuation is priced on 100,000 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/bmw-counted-figure-robots-one-at-a-time-the-valuation-is-priced-on-100-000