OpenAI plans to develop humanoid robot, says Sam Altman

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced on May 31, 2026 that the company is launching a major push into robotics, with ambitions to build humanoid robots that can handle real-world tasks. Altman laid out a two-phase vision: first, general-purpose robots designed to assist skilled workers in infrastructure and construction, and later, personal robots built for everyday consumer use. From Dactyl to round two This isn’t OpenAI’s first attempt at robotics. The company previously ran a robotics division that produced Dactyl, a robotic hand capable of manipulating objects with impressive dexterity. That effort was shut down around 2020-2021 as the company shifted resources toward its language model work, the bet that eventually produced ChatGPT. The rebuild started quietly in February 2025, when OpenAI began reassembling its robotics capabilities. The company established a new lab in San Francisco and is planning to expand with a second facility in Richmond, California. The lab has reportedly quadrupled in size since its inception. Altman has signaled an aggressive hiring campaign across hardware engineering, operations, systems design, and machine learning. The technical approach draws from Ope...