Brett Adcock

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Brett Adcock
Brett Adcock 01.jpg
Adcock in 2022
Born (1986-04-06) April 6, 1986 (age 38)
Moweaqua, Illinois, U.S.
Education University of Florida
OccupationTechnology entrepreneur
Years active2008–present
Known forFounder of Archer Aviation, [1] [2] Vettery, [3] Figure AI, [4] and Cover [5]
Title CEO at Figure AI
Children2
Website brettadcock.com

Brett Adcock (born April 6, 1986) is an American technology entrepreneur [6] and the founder and CEO of Figure AI, an AI startup working on a general-purpose humanoid robot. [7] [8] [9] In 2018, Adcock founded Archer Aviation, [10] [11] [12] [13] five years after he started Vettery. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] In 2023, he established Cover. [5] As of June 2024, Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$1.4 billion. [19] [20]

Contents

Early life and education

Adcock was raised on his family's farm outside Moweaqua, Illinois. At the age of sixteen, Adcock began working on web companies, which included an e-commerce site focused on outdoor electronics and a content site called Street of Walls. He subsequently graduated as the valedictorian of Central A&M High School. [21]

Initially majoring in engineering, Adcock then studied at the University of Florida's Warrington College of Business and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2008. [21] [3]

Career

In 2013, Adcock founded Vettery (which later became known as Hired), a talent marketplace that matched job seekers with employers who needed technical expertise. [14] In 2018, the Adecco Group bought Vettery for $100 million. The same year, Adcock started eVTOL company Archer Aviation. In 2022 he founded Figure, an AI startup based in Sunnyvale that is working on a general-purpose humanoid robot. [7] [22] Adcock assembled Figure's team from people working at Boston Dynamics, Tesla, Google DeepMind and Apple. [21] [23] Adcock opines that the creation of humanoid robots will mitigate labor shortages. [23]

Vettery

In 2013, Brett Adcock founded the online recruiting marketplace Vettery. [24] Vettery came out of stealth in 2015 and its clients included Jet, Casper, Etsy, Blue Apron and Percolate. [25] Vettery was started out of NYU's Varick Street Incubator. [26] As of 2017, Vettery has raised $12 million in venture backed funding led by Greycroft Investors, Raine Ventures, and Pritzker Venture Capital. [27] [28] [29] In February 2018, The Adecco Group acquired Vettery to use their technology in advancement of digital strategy. [30]

Archer Aviation

In October 2018, Adcock founded electric aircraft company Archer Aviation. [31] Archer was originally started with a research grant from Adcock at the University of Florida and ultimately headquartered in Palo Alto, California. [32] In February 2021, United Airlines made an initial purchase of Archer aircraft with the intent of using them to provide urban service to airports. [33] [34] [35] [36] Archer went public on the New York Stock Exchange with investors including United Airlines, Stellantis, Exor, Baron Capital, Marc Lore, and Brett Adcock. [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]

Figure

In May 2022, Adcock founded AI robotics company Figure. [42] Figure is building a humanoid robot that can do autonomous human-like tasks. [43] In February 2024, Figure secured $675 million in venture capital funding from a consortium that included OpenAI, Microsoft, Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and Intel. [44] [45] In August 2024, Figure revealed their second generation humanoid robot Figure 02. [46] [47] In the same month, Figure had a successful deployment of their humanoid robots at BMW Group Plant Spartanburg. [48] [49]

Cover

In October 2023, Adcock founded AI security company Cover to prevent school shootings in the United States. Cover uses licensed technology from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA. [5] [50]

Personal life

Brett Adcock resides in Palo Alto, California, with his wife and three children. [21] [51] Adcock has a penchant for the Robot series authored by Isaac Asimov—novels that influenced his career. [52]

Honors

He was included in the Time 2024 list of influential people in AI. [53]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air taxi</span> Small commercial aircraft which makes short flights on demand

An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adecco</span> Swiss multinational human resource consulting company

The Adecco Group is a Swiss–French company based in Zürich, Switzerland. It is the world's second largest human resources provider and temporary staffing firm. It is a Fortune Global 500 company and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

A robotaxi, also known as robot taxi, robo-taxi, self-driving taxi or driverless taxi, is an autonomous car operated for a ridesharing company.

Urban air mobility (UAM) is the use of small, highly automated aircraft to carry passengers or cargo at lower altitudes in urban and suburban areas which have been developed in response to traffic congestion. It usually refers to existing and emerging technologies such as traditional helicopters, vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (VTOL), electrically propelled vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft (eVTOL), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These aircraft are characterized by the use of multiple electric-powered rotors or fans for lift and propulsion, along with fly-by-wire systems to control them. Inventors have explored urban air mobility concepts since the early days of powered flight. However, advances in materials, computerized flight controls, batteries and electric motors improved innovation and designs beginning in the late 2010s. Most UAM proponents envision that the aircraft will be owned and operated by professional operators, as with taxis, rather than by private individuals.

Lilium N.V. is a German aerospace company which is the developer of the Lilium Jet, an electrically powered personal air vehicle capable of VTOL flight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joby Aviation</span> American aviation company

Joby Aviation is a United States venture-backed aviation company, developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that it intends to operate as an air taxi service. Joby Aviation is headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, and has offices in San Carlos, California; Marina, California; and Munich, Germany.

Volocopter GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturer based in Bruchsal and founded by Alexander Zosel and Stephan Wolf. The company specializes in the design of electric multirotor helicopters in the form of personal air vehicles, designed for air taxi use. The CEO is Dirk Hoke and chairman Stefan Klocke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vertical Aerospace</span> British aerospace manufacturer (e. 2016)

Vertical Aerospace Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer based in Bristol, England. It designs and builds zero emission, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoox (company)</span> American company developing self-driving taxis

Zoox, Inc. is a subsidiary of Amazon developing autonomous vehicles that provide mobility as a service. It is headquartered in Foster City, California and has offices of operations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, Washington. Zoox sits in the Amazon Devices & Services organization alongside other Amazon units like Amazon Lab126, Amazon Alexa, and Kuiper Systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XPeng</span> Chinese car company

Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors Technology Co., Ltd., trading as XPeng Motors, commonly known as XPeng, is a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer. The company is headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong, with offices in Mountain View, California, United States and Munich, Germany. XPeng stock is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Hired is a hiring marketplace. Vettery was founded by Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein in 2013.

An electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is a variety of VTOL aircraft that uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically. This technology came about owing to major advances in electric propulsion and the emerging need for new aerial vehicles for urban air mobility that can enable greener and quieter flights. Electric and hybrid propulsion systems (EHPS) have also the potential of lowering the operating costs of aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optimus (robot)</span> Humanoid robot being developed by Tesla

Optimus, also known as Tesla Bot, is a general-purpose robotic humanoid under development by Tesla, Inc. It was announced at the company's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Day event on August 19, 2021, and a prototype was shown in 2022. CEO Elon Musk stated in 2022 that he thinks Optimus "has the potential to be more significant than [Tesla's] vehicle business over time." Media and expert opinions based on corporate showcases have been mixed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archer Aviation</span> American electric aircraft manufacturer

Archer Aviation Inc. is a publicly traded company headquartered in San Jose, California, which is developing eVTOL aircraft.

Wisk Aero is an aerospace manufacturer based in Mountain View, California, United States. The company develops self-flying electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed to be operated as air taxis. The company was formed in 2019 as a partnership between Boeing and Google co-founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk aircraft company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advanced air mobility</span> Next generation aviation

Advanced air mobility (AAM) are systems that incorporate support for next-generation transport such as such as remotely piloted, autonomous, or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. This includes those powered by electric or hybrid-electric propulsion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Figure AI</span> Robotics company

Figure AI, Inc. is a United States-based robotics company specializing in the development of AI-powered humanoid robots. It was founded in 2022, by Brett Adcock, the founder of Archer Aviation and Vettery. Figure AI's team is composed of experts from robotics, artificial intelligence, sensing, perception, and navigation, blending experiences from notable companies like Boston Dynamics and Tesla.

TCab Technology Co., Ltd. is a company based in Shanghai, China that develops and manufactures electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The name "TCab" stands for "time taxi." The company produces zero-emission eVTOL aircraft for public use in advanced air mobility (AAM) air ridesharing services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Covariant (company)</span>

Covariant is an American artificial intelligence and robotics technology company. It is headquartered in Emeryville, California.

References

  1. ↑ Crumley, Bruce (May 11, 2022). "Archer cofounder resigns as its eVTOL air taxi pursues certification".
  2. ↑ Chatterley, Julia (host) (March 4, 2021). "United Airlines to buy electric flying taxis in $1 billion partnership". First Move. Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN . Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Alsup, Allison (February 21, 2018). "Brett Adcock (BSBA '08) & Adam Goldstein (BSBA '01) | February 2018".
  4. ↑ Huff, Steve (March 3, 2023). "Figure Humanoid Robot Startup Comes Out of Stealth". Entrepreneur.
  5. 1 2 3 Heater, Brian (June 21, 2024). "A new startup from Figure's founder is licensing NASA tech in a bid to curb school shootings". TechCrunch.
  6. ↑ Blain, Loz (April 10, 2023). "OpenAI and Figure join the race to humanoid robot workers". www.newatlas.com. Just this year, entrepreneur Brett Adcock, founder of the Vettery "online talent marketplace," and more recently Archer Aviation, one of the leading contenders in the emerging electric VTOL aircraft movement, announced his latest venture is focused on humanoid robots.
  7. 1 2 "Robotique : Tesla n'est plus seul à dévoiler un robot humanoïde avancé". www.telesatellite.com (in French).
  8. ↑ Tarafel, Jefferson (March 8, 2023). ""We are going to build a robot for every human being on the planet", says CEO of Archer".
  9. ↑ Heater, Brian (September 22, 2022). "Archer's co-founder is bootstrapping an all-purpose humanoid robot". TechCrunch.
  10. ↑ "Archer Aviation Co-Founders discuss when to expect electric vertical takeoff". Yahoo Finance. 20 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "Flying Cars Will Reshape Our Congested Cities: Interview With Archer CEO Brett Adcock". The New York Observer . June 7, 2021.
  12. ↑ Uranga, Rachel (19 June 2022). "Look! Up in the sky! It's an air taxi. They're coming to Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times .
  13. ↑ Levine Beckman, Brittany (June 10, 2021). "Archer reveals its Maker flying taxi, promising to lift us out of traffic hell". Mashable.
  14. 1 2 Jannarone, John (February 2, 2015). "Hedge fund analysts take Uber model to recruiting". CNBC.
  15. ↑ Lee, Allen (August 7, 2022). "How Brett Adcock Achieved a Net Worth of $300 Million". Money Inc.
  16. ↑ Schubarth, Cromwell (Apr 21, 2021). "Here's why Archer Aviation's founders believe it has the right air taxi team". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  17. ↑ Ford, Jason. "Charged for Flight." (2022): 42-43.
  18. ↑ Hofacker, Cat, and Alyssa Tomlinson. "Building vertiport cities." AEROSPACE AMERICA 59, no. 6 (2021): 22-32.
  19. ↑ "Brett Adcock". Forbes. June 5, 2024.
  20. ↑ Dolan, Kerry A. (April 15, 2024). "Meet The New AI-Robot Billionaire". Forbes.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Sproule, Holly (November 3, 2023). "AI is up and walking". UF Warrington News .
  22. ↑ Kingson, Jennifer A. (March 17, 2023). "Humanoid robots are coming". Axios.
  23. 1 2 Blain, Loz (September 27, 2023). "Figure's Brett Adcock on the practicalities of humanoid robot workers". New Atlas.
  24. ↑ Kim, Eugene (August 22, 2016). "This 25-person startup just raised $9 million using these 9 slides". Business Insider.
  25. ↑ Ha, Anthony (June 11, 2015). "Vettery Raises $1.7M And Officially Launches Its Job Marketplace". TechCrunch.
  26. ↑ Lee, Allen (August 7, 2022). "How Brett Adcock Achieved a Net Worth of $300 Million". Money Inc.
  27. ↑ Ha, Anthony (June 11, 2015). "Vettery Raises $1.7M And Officially Launches Its Job Marketplace". TechCrunch.
  28. ↑ Ha, Anthony (August 16, 2016). "Vettery raises $9M as it expands its hiring marketplace to San Francisco". TechCrunch.
  29. ↑ Kim, Eugene (August 22, 2016). "This 25-person startup just raised $9 million using these 9 slides". Business Insider.
  30. ↑ Ha, Anthony (February 20, 2018). "Adecco Group acquires recruiting startup Vettery for $100M". TechCrunch.
  31. ↑ Garsten, Ed (June 10, 2021). "Archer Aviation Unveils Electric Vertical Takeoff/Landing Air Taxi". Forbes.
  32. ↑ Alsup, Allison (March 26, 2021). "UF Warrington alumni taking intracity travel to new heights". UF Warrington News.
  33. ↑ Korosec, Kirsten (February 10, 2021). "Archer lands $1B order from United Airlines and a SPAC deal". TechCrunch.
  34. ↑ Pallini, Thomas (February 10, 2021). "United just ordered $1 billion worth of eVTOLs from a startup that aims to launch intra-city passenger flights in 2024". Business Insider.
  35. ↑ Reichmann, Kelsey (February 11, 2021). "United Airlines Forms Partnership with Archer to Purchase 200 eVTOL Aircraft". Avionics International.
  36. ↑ Rucinski, Tracy; Nishant, Niket (February 10, 2021). "Archer to go public, United Airlines invests and orders electric aircraft". Reuters.
  37. ↑ Rucinski, Tracy; Nishant, Niket (February 10, 2021). "Archer to go public, United Airlines invests and orders electric aircraft". Reuters.
  38. ↑ Pallini, Thomas (February 10, 2021). "United just ordered $1 billion worth of eVTOLs from a startup that aims to launch intra-city passenger flights in 2024". Business Insider.
  39. ↑ Korosec, Kirsten (February 10, 2021). "Archer lands $1B order from United Airlines and a SPAC deal". TechCrunch.
  40. ↑ LeBeau, Phil (February 10, 2021). "United Airlines orders electric vertical aircraft, invests in urban air mobility SPAC". CNBC.
  41. ↑ Bogaisky, Jeremy (February 10, 2021). "Archer To Go Public In Reverse Merger As United Airlines Places Order For Its Electric Air Taxis To Shuttle Passengers To Airport". Forbes.
  42. ↑ Heater, Brian (September 22, 2022). "Archer's co-founder is bootstrapping an all-purpose humanoid robot". TechCrunch.
  43. ↑ Kingson, Jennifer A. "Humanoid robots are coming". Axios.
  44. ↑ Palmer, Annie (February 29, 2024). "Humanoid robot startup Figure AI valued at $2.6 billion as Bezos, OpenAI, Nvidia join funding". CNBC.
  45. ↑ "Humanoid robot-maker Figure gets funding from OpenAI, Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and other tech giants". Fast Company . 3 March 2024.
  46. ↑ Eaton, Kitt (August 6, 2024). "Robot Startup Figure Takes on Tesla's Optimus With Next-Gen Model". Inc.
  47. ↑ Heater, Brian (August 6, 2024). "Figure's new humanoid robot leverages OpenAI for natural speech conversations". TechCrunch.
  48. ↑ Shibu, Sherin (August 6, 2024). "Figure 02 Humanoid Robot Steps Into BMW Factories For Test". Entrepreneur .
  49. ↑ Staff, The Robot Report (August 7, 2024). "BMW tests Figure 02 humanoid on production line". The Robot Report.
  50. ↑ May, Tom (August 7, 2024). "Tech startups aim to prevent school shootings using AI and smart camera tech". Digital Camera World.
  51. ↑ Lee, Allen (2022-08-07). "How Brett Adcock Achieved a Net Worth of $300 Million". Money Inc. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  52. ↑ "Figure vs. Tesla: Who Leads the Humanoid Robot Revolution?". Peter Diamandis . March 3, 2024.
  53. ↑ "The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2024". TIME. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
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