Meta is making humanoid robotics its next major strategic bet, comparable in scale to its earlier investments in augmented reality, according to CTO Andrew Bosworth. Speaking ahead of Meta’s Connect conference, Bosworth revealed that the company has launched a dedicated robotics research effort this year, initiated by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. While the project is still in early stages, Meta is already assembling a high-caliber team and laying the groundwork for a long-term push. Bosworth emphasized that hardware development, while challenging, is not the primary obstacle. The real bottleneck, he said, lies in software—specifically, enabling robots to perform dexterous manipulation tasks that humans do effortlessly. To illustrate, he picked up a glass of water from the table between us, noting that while robots can walk, run, or even flip, they struggle with delicate actions like holding a fragile object without crushing or spilling it. Meta’s internal project, nicknamed the “Metabot,” is focused on building a software platform that could eventually be licensed to other robot manufacturers. Rather than becoming a hardware maker itself, Meta aims to follow a model similar to Google’s Android—providing a foundational software stack that any company can use, provided their robot meets certain technical specifications. Central to this vision is the development of a “world model”—a sophisticated AI system capable of simulating complex physical interactions, such as how a hand should move to grasp an object. This effort is being led by Meta’s new Superintelligence AI lab, which includes ex-Scale CEO Alexandr Wang. The goal is to train AI models that can understand spatial relationships and simulate the fine motor skills needed for tasks like retrieving keys from a pocket. Bosworth acknowledged the difficulty of gathering the necessary training data for such systems, noting that the “sensor loop” required for real-time, adaptive manipulation doesn’t yet exist. “You have to build that data set,” he said. The robotics team is being led by Marc Whitten, former CEO of Cruise, and includes top talent such as Sangbae Kim, a renowned roboticist from MIT, and Jinsong Yu, a key architect behind Meta’s Orion AR glasses prototype, who was convinced to stay on instead of retiring. Ning Li, a 15-year veteran of Meta, now leads the engineering team. While Meta is exploring partnerships with silicon providers like Nvidia and Qualcomm, Bosworth downplayed the need for ultra-complex hardware. He suggested that a robot with just two thumbs and basic dexterity could be sufficient for many real-world applications. “I don’t think you need 23 degrees of freedom in your hand,” he said. “Two thumbs would be nice.” The company’s approach reflects a broader bet on AI-driven software as the key to unlocking robotics, rather than relying solely on hardware innovation. Whether Meta can deliver on this vision remains to be seen, but the scale of the investment and the caliber of talent involved signal serious intent.