seniorspectrumnewspaper – Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth says the company is making a major bet on robotics software. Speaking recently at Meta’s headquarters, Bosworth called robotics the company’s next “AR-sized bet,” referencing its massive investments in augmented and virtual reality.
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Meta has already spent over $100 billion developing its extended reality portfolio, including devices like the Meta Ray-Ban Display. Now, the company wants to play a central role in powering humanoid robots—not by building hardware, but by supplying the software foundation.
Bosworth said Meta is not interested in becoming a hardware manufacturer in the robotics space. Instead, the company aims to license its software to other companies building robots. “I don’t think the hardware is the hard part,” Bosworth explained. “The bottleneck is the software.”
This vision mirrors how Google approached the smartphone industry. While Google’s Pixel devices make up a small share of the market, its Android operating system powers the majority of smartphones worldwide. Meta appears to be pursuing a similar role for its robotics platform.
Bosworth pointed out that today’s humanoid robots struggle with basic, real-world interactions. Tasks like picking up a glass of water or pulling keys from a pocket are still challenging for machines. To solve this, Meta’s new Superintelligence AI lab is collaborating with its robotics team to build advanced simulation tools.
These tools are part of what Bosworth described as a “world model” that can animate dexterous robotic hands in software. The model would allow robots to practice complex movements virtually before trying them in the real world.
Meta’s Software-First Robotics Vision Faces Long Development Road
While Meta’s ambitions are large, its robotics software platform remains in early development. According to a source cited by Bloomberg earlier this year, it could take several years before the system is ready for third-party use.
Still, Meta is not alone in believing in the future of humanoid robots. At CES 2025, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang predicted the robotics market could grow to $38 billion in the coming decades. He compared the future of robotics to the rapid rise of generative AI, calling it “the ChatGPT moment for general robotics.”
Meta’s leadership believes that success in robotics will come from mastering the software behind physical tasks. Robots today lack the nuanced control needed to interact safely and effectively with fragile or irregular objects. Meta’s focus is to build software that makes robots more adaptable and useful in everyday environments.
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Despite technical challenges and a long development timeline, Meta sees robotics as a natural extension of its AI and AR expertise. If successful, the company could become the software backbone of next-generation humanoid robots, even without building the machines themselves.
As other tech giants race toward similar goals, the coming years may define which company sets the standards for general-purpose robotics. Meta’s push suggests it is ready to invest deeply in shaping that future—just as it has in the world of AR.
