← Back to the wire

Robot brain builders are pushing out of their GPT-2 era

AnnouncementResearchAug 26, 2026

Unitree, China's leading robot maker, lost nearly half of its $66 billion market valuation this week after its IPO, as analysts cited robots' inability to perform value-creating work. At the Actuate conference, organizer Foxglove reported 1,500 attendees, triple its 2023 size, while Avala promoted solving "the robotics data crisis." Developers say physical AI remains in its GPT-2 era, needing more data and compute. Autonomous vehicle firms like Wayve and Uber are launching humanoid robotics labs.

Receipt № 15781 source · awaiting confirmation ◐

Evidence

1source· awaiting independent confirmation

No score is assigned. Sources and their independence are shown in the citation chain below.

Citation chain · 1 source

GPT-2ModelUnitreeCompanyFoxgloveCompanyAvalaCompany
Canonical: https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/26/robot-brain-builders-are-pushing-out-of-their-gpt-2-era/