Whistleblower lawsuit claims Figure AI robots have the strength to fracture skulls

Figure AI, a robotics-based company backed by Nvidia, has been sued by its former head of product safety, Robert Gruendel. Gruendel alleges wrongful termination after he raised safety concerns about the company's robots, claiming the robots are powerful enough to fracture human skulls.

Gruendel reportedly warned CEO Brett Adcock and Chief Engineer Kyle Edelberg about the robots' lethal capabilities, highlighting a malfunction incident in which a robot carved a ¼-inch gash into a steel refrigerator door. His concerns were allegedly dismissed as "obstacles" rather than being taken as a safety issue. He was terminated in September, days after lodging documented safety complaints. His lawyers describe him as a whistleblower.

Gruendel claimed he was asked to prepare a safety roadmap for prospective investors and claims that a safety plan was "gutted" the same month the investment round closed. Gruendel suggests that this could potentially be interpreted as fraudulent misrepresentation. The company was recently valued at $39 billion (a whopping 15-fold increase since early 2024). Major investors in Figure AI include Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and Microsoft.

Gruendel is seeking economic, compensatory, and punitive damages, as well as a jury trial. A Figure AI spokesperson, however, claims that Gruendel's termination was due to "poor performance" and that the company will "thoroughly discredit" the allegations in court. The attorney notes that the case may be among the first whistleblower cases involving the safety of humanoid robots.

The lawsuit comes amid the company's ambitious goal to have 200,000 robots deployed by 2029, generating over $9 billion in revenue. Morgan Stanley predicts market acceleration well into the 2030s, with the market potentially reaching $5 trillion by 2050.