Figure locks in a 3.5 billion dollar Nvidia compute pipeline through Nscale
Humanoid-robot maker Figure and AI cloud provider Nscale signed an initial 3.5 billion dollar compute agreement that the two sides plan to grow past 6 billion dollars, with Nscale taking a stake in Figure and becoming its preferred compute partner. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said the two companies had 'activated the robotics flywheel,' training Figure's models on Nvidia hardware before they run in its humanoid robots. Deployment of the first Nvidia chips in Texas is targeted for the second half of 2027.
Artificial Intelligence··Morning
Nscale commits up to 6 billion dollars in compute to Figure
Humanoid-robot maker Figure and AI cloud provider Nscale signed an agreement covering the deployment of up to 100,000 Nvidia processors in Barstow, Texas, running on Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform, with the first deployment targeted for the second half of 2027. Nscale becomes Figure's preferred compute provider and takes an equity stake in the company as part of an initial 3.5 billion dollar compute commitment that the two sides plan to grow past 6 billion dollars, supporting development of Figure's Helix models as well as its physical robot systems. Nscale founder and chief executive Josh Payne frames the partnership as physical intelligence becoming AI's next stage, while Figure chief executive Brett Adcock says data and compute are the company's main constraint.[1]
Huang calls the tie-up a physical AI flywheel
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, who also appears in the original announcement, expanded on the deal in remarks carried separately: he said Nscale and Figure had 'activated the robotics flywheel,' describing a cycle in which Figure's models train on Nvidia hardware through Nscale's cloud, are validated on Nvidia systems, and are then deployed into Figure's robots. Humanoid robots, Huang said, extend physical AI into a world designed for people and open a major new industry, and the cycle he described will accelerate how models reach robots working in the real world.[2]
A stake ties Nscale's own fortunes to an unbuilt pipeline
Between Payne's framing of a new AI stage and Huang's flywheel cycle, the companies describe an ambitious pipeline that still has to be built. The announcement itself remains a commitment: no measurement has yet been published showing the Barstow deployment finished or the compute capacity running. Nscale's equity stake also makes it a financial stakeholder in Figure's outcome, beyond its role as compute supplier.[1], [2]
