Sanctuary AI vs Figure AI

Figure AI has a disclosed valuation of $39B, while Sanctuary AI's valuation is not publicly available, making a direct size comparison difficult. Figure AI employs 450 people.

Figure AI has raised more in total funding at $1.9B, compared to Sanctuary AI's $140M — a gap of $1.8B. Combined, the two companies have completed 5 known funding rounds.

Figure AI leads with an Awaira Score of 95/100, while Sanctuary AI sits at 65/100. That 30-point gap reflects real differences in funding, scale, and traction — it's not a vanity metric.

Sanctuary AI was founded by Geordie Rose in 2018. Figure AI was founded by Brett Adcock in 2022. Visit each company's profile on Awaira for a full founder biography.

Sanctuary AI: Sanctuary AI develops Phoenix, a general-purpose humanoid robot designed to perform a wide range of physical labor tasks in human-centric environments including manufacturing, warehousing, and retail operations. The robot is controlled by Carbon, an AI system designed to generalize task learning across diverse physical manipulation challenges without task-specific programming for each new application.\n\nThe company raised approximately 140 million USD and has announced commercial deployments with enterprise partners in structured industrial environments, demonstrating early progress toward robots that can be retrained for new tasks without significant engineering effort. Sanctuary is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and operates its AI research team across North America.\n\nGeneral-purpose humanoid robotics represents one of the largest potential markets in the AI economy, addressed by a new generation of well-funded companies including Figure AI, Physical Intelligence, and Tesla Optimus. Sanctuary focus on the cognitive AI layer, specifically the ability to rapidly teach robots new tasks through a combination of imitation learning and reinforcement learning, positions it as a company where long-term value accrues to the AI system rather than the hardware platform alone. Figure AI: Figure AI is a robotics company founded in 2022 that develops humanoid robots designed for industrial and commercial applications. The company focuses on creating general-purpose robots capable of performing complex physical tasks in real-world environments. Figure AI's primary technology centers on advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning systems that enable autonomous operation and human-robot collaboration. The company has raised $1.9 billion in funding across multiple rounds, achieving a valuation of $39 billion as of its Series C stage, reflecting significant investor confidence in the humanoid robotics sector. This valuation places Figure AI among the most valuable robotics startups globally. The company's approach emphasizes practical deployment in industries facing labor shortages and operational challenges. Figure AI competes in the growing humanoid robotics market alongside companies developing similar technologies. The company's competitive positioning is strengthened by substantial capital resources enabling rapid research and development. Figure AI has demonstrated prototypes and engaged with potential enterprise customers across manufacturing, logistics, and service sectors, though specific customer details remain largely confidential. The company's growth trajectory reflects the broader acceleration in AI-enabled robotics investment. Figure AI's development timeline suggests advancement toward commercial deployment, with the robotics industry expecting increased real-world implementations in the coming years. Figure AI has achieved unicorn status within two years of founding, indicating rapid progress in humanoid robotics commercialization despite the sector's technical complexity.

Sanctuary AI got there first, launching in 2018 — that's 4 years of extra runway. Figure AI didn't arrive until 2022. In AI, that kind of head start means more training data, deeper customer relationships, and a bigger talent moat.

Sanctuary AI has about 200-500 employees; Figure AI has about 450. A bigger team usually means more revenue or heavier VC backing, but in AI, small teams can build at massive scale.

Yes — they're direct rivals. Both Sanctuary AI and Figure AI compete in AI Robotics, targeting many of the same buyers. If you're evaluating one, you should be looking at the other.