Engineer says he was fired after warning Figure AI’s robot could 'fracture a human skull'

Robert Gruendel, a principal robotic safety engineer, filed the lawsuit in a federal court in the Northern District of California on Nov. 21. The suit was filed two months after the U.S. robotics firm was valued at $39 billion in a funding round led by Parkway Venture Capital. This valuation marked a 15-fold increase from early 2024, when the company secured investments from major backers, including Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and Microsoft.

Gruendel’s attorney Robert Ottinger asserts that he was fired in September, just days after warning CEO Brett Adcock and chief engineer Kyle Edelberg in a safety complaint about the robot's potential to cause harm. According to the lawsuit, Gruendel described an incident where one of the robots "had already carved a ¼-inch gash into a steel refrigerator door during a malfunction," CNBC reported.

The complaint further states that Gruendel had advised the company’s leadership against reducing or shortening the safety timeline he had presented to then two potential investors.

Gruendel raised concerns that the product safety plan, which had played a role in securing the investment, was "gutted" when Figure AI closed its funding round that same month.

His concerns were treated as obstacles rather than obligations, and that the company provided a vague "change in business direction" as the reason for his termination, according to the suit. He is seeking economic, compensatory, and punitive damages, as well as a jury trial.

Ottinger, noted that this could be one of the first lawsuits focusing on the safety of humanoid robots and anticipated that the legal process would highlight the risks posed to the public when companies rush to market with untested products.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Figure AI defended the firing, stating that Gruendel was dismissed due to "poor performance" and insisted that the allegations would be refuted in court.

 

 

Engineer says he was fired after warning Figure AI’s robot could 'fracture a human skull'

Former Figure AI engineer sues company for wrongful termination after warning its humanoid robot cou

In October, Figure AI introduced its third-generation humanoid robot, Figure 03, designed for household chores, though it is not yet available to consumers.

Figure AI founder Adcock, in an interview with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at the Dreamforce conference that same month, expressed excitement about a future where robots could "build themselves" and "colonize the galaxy," as reported by Business Insider.

Figure AI faces strong competition from Tesla, which is developing its own humanoid robot, Optimus. The first prototype was showcased at Tesla’s AI Day in 2022, and CEO Elon Musk has stated that the robot will be ready for commercial release in late 2025 or 2026.