THE ESSENTIALS IN 30 SECONDS

  • The Information reports that Meta and Shanghai-based Fourier built a humanoid prototype, internally named Max, in about three months, and that work on a second version began in September.
  • Max was reportedly shown to some Meta employees at an internal robotics summit in late August; Meta says the collaboration is for internal research and that it has no plans to sell the units.
  • The report lands as US rules restrict new foreign-made humanoid robots, which the FCC added to its Covered List this summer.

Meta has built a humanoid robot with Chinese robotics company Fourier, according to a report published on Saturday, October 31, by The Information, which cited people familiar with the project. Reuters, which summarised the story, said it could not immediately verify it, and Fourier has not commented publicly. The details below come from The Information's reporting as relayed by other outlets.

What the report describes

The first prototype, internally called Max, was reportedly developed with Shanghai-based Fourier in about three months. It is said to weigh around 106 pounds (roughly 48 kg) and stand about 1.5 metres tall. Investing.com, summarising the report, lists an Nvidia Jetson Thor chip, a screen able to imitate facial expressions, built-in speakers and five-fingered hands for handling small objects.

Max was shown to some Meta employees at an internal robotics summit in late August, and work on a second version began in September. That successor is expected to get a redesigned torso, better hands, a projector and extra sensors to help it climb stairs. Li-Chen Miller, Meta's vice president of product for robotics, reportedly spent close to two months at Fourier's Shanghai site, and The Deep Dive notes that the report also mentions recruiting in Shanghai and Shenzhen for roles covering suppliers, prototypes and potential production scaling.

According to the report, Meta sees humanoid robots as a physical form for its Muse AI agent, with household help as the long-term goal. Meta told The Information that the Fourier work is focused on internal research and experimentation and that it does not plan to sell the units. The company has not disclosed costs or a timeline.

A sensitive regulatory backdrop

The collaboration comes as Washington tightens access to foreign robots. At the end of July, the Federal Communications Commission added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices, including humanoids and quadrupeds, to its Covered List, according to law firm Sidley Austin. Equipment on that list cannot receive FCC authorisation, so new models cannot be imported or sold in the US unless the Department of War grants a conditional approval. The Deep Dive adds that the FCC has proposed sharply reducing how many covered devices can be brought in for research without authorisation.

Meta's research-only framing matters in that context: building prototypes with a Chinese partner is different from bringing such robots to market. Whether Meta could ever commercialise a Fourier-built design under the current rules, and how far its own robotics team plans to take the project, remain open questions.