Meta is Building an “Android of Robotics” to Power the Next Generation of Humanoid AI

Meta is shifting its development focus toward robotics, with chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth stating that beyond building its prototype robot, Metabot, the bigger move is licensing a robotics software platform reminiscent of Android’s dominance in smartphones. He argues that software will be the true engine of adoption, with a framework capable of agile operations and intelligent decision-making as the key to widespread use.

Inside Meta, a robotics division led by former Cruise CEO Marc Whitten and the publicly announced Superintelligence Labs are tasked with accelerating innovation and breakthroughs, including a “world model” software-simulated environment to enable dexterous, humanlike hand movements. As early as February this year, reports indicated Meta had begun experimenting with service‑oriented robots for chores, with rumours of collaborations involving China’s Unitree Robotics and California‑based Figure AI.

If successful in creating the “Android of robotics,” Meta could licensing the platform to a range of manufacturers, broadening the ecosystem and distributing risk beyond proprietary hardware.