A humanoid robot from a rising robotics start-up awkwardly accompanied Melania Trump to greet other world leaders’ spouses in an education and technology summit held at the White House.
Melania Trump, the first lady of the United States, walked into a room full of the world’s first ladies with a humanoid robot from Figure.
The Figure 3 robot walked alongside the US's first lady, in what seemed to be matching outfits.
Figure 3 addressed the world’s most elite spouses, welcoming the attendees before Mrs. Trump gave her speech.
The AI-powered robot thanked Melania Trump for inviting it to the White House and said that it was an honor to be invited to the inaugural Fostering the Future Together Global Coalition summit.
“I’m Figure 3, a humanoid built in the United States of America,” the robot dropped in effortlessly.
The humanoid declared that it is proud to be part of this “historic movement” that aims to empower children through technology and education.
The walking, talking robot then greeted its guests in various languages.
This oddly dystopian clip caught the attention of social media users everywhere, with one YouTube commenter asking, “Which one was the robot?”
Melania Trump supposedly had her doubts about Figure 3. According to lip reader Nicola Hickling, Mrs. Trump told the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, Brigitte Macron, that the humanoid robot is “evil,” as per AOL.
However, despite Melania’s own supposed opinions on humanoid robots, the first lady spoke at the summit, claiming that humanoid robots and AI-generated teachers are the way forward.
Mrs. Trump spoke of a humanoid robot teacher called Plato, modeled after the ancient Greek philosopher, that could directly provide “access to classical studies” that is “now instantaneous.”
She goes on to say that “humanity's entire corpus of information is available in the comfort of your home” via humanoid robot educators.
These are grand claims, and they seemingly fall flat when you look at the meandering gait of Figure 3 as it hobbled alongside Melania.
Who is behind Figure?
Despite being the first humanoid robot to set foot in the White House, Figure, the company behind Mrs. Trump’s companion, doesn’t appear to reach audiences in the same way that Tesla’s Optimus robots do.
Perhaps it's Elon Musk’s controversial public relations techniques (like ragebaiting X users) that have kept the billionaire tech mogul and his tech in the spotlight.
Regardless, Musk’s humanoid robots haven’t visited the White House, and due to the tumultuous relationship between Musk and the president, they probably never will.
Brett Adock, a serial entrepreneur, is the CEO and co-founder of Figure. The company is developing and manufacturing humanoid robots to do what most robot companies aim to do: eradicate menial labour and help people with boring domestic duties.
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“These robots will eliminate the need for unsafe and undesirable jobs, allowing future generations to live happier, more purposeful lives,” Adock has previously stated.
Adock has ventured into flying taxis, humanoid robots, and, of course, AI.
Recently, the entrepreneur invested $100 million of his own money in a new company, Hark, which focuses on AI-compatible hardware and artificial intelligence rather than either one.
The company wants to run the whole show from foundation models to software systems as well as hardware and user interfaces, according to Observer.
Figure has secured significant funding from tech giants such as Nvidia, Intel, and Qualcomm.
Adock’s humanoid robot venture received over $1 billion in funding in 2025 and was valued at $39 billion, making it one of the most valuable start-ups, according to Bloomberg.
The all-American company started in 2022 and previously received funding from huge players such as OpenAI, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Adock previously boasted about the company’s partnership with car maker BMW, which made the young start-up look like a powerhouse of innovation, a company to watch out for.
However, Adock was accused of inflating the robo-manufacturing partnership after a BMW spokesperson noted that a singular Figure robot was operating during off-hours at its South Carolina factory.
The humanoid robot was reported to be picking up and placing parts in the BMW body shop, according to Fortune.
Yet, Adock claimed that a fleet of Figure robots was getting down and dirty, performing “end-to-end” operations for BMW.
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