Highlights:
- OpenAI has set up a secret robotics lab in San Francisco focused on training robotic arms
- The company is collecting massive amounts of human-operated data for household tasks
- Full humanoid robots are not the priority yet, but groundwork is being laid
OpenAI is quietly advancing into robotics, signaling that the long-anticipated “humanoid robot moment” may be closer than expected. While robotics is not yet part of OpenAI’s core mission, the company has been building early-stage capabilities behind the scenes.
In February 2025, OpenAI established a robotics lab in San Francisco. The lab has since expanded to more than four times its original size and now runs 24 hours a day. Around 100 data collectors and at least a dozen robotics engineers remotely operate robotic arms to generate training data.
The main focus is on low-cost robotic arms, not full humanoid robots. Workers use a 3D-printed controller called GELLO, which directly maps human hand movements to robotic arms. These robots are being trained on everyday tasks such as placing bread into a toaster and folding clothes.
OpenAI’s strategy relies on collecting large volumes of human-generated data, similar to how early language models were trained. Experts say the biggest challenge in robotics is not algorithms, but high-quality data.
A second robotics lab is planned in California, showing OpenAI’s long-term interest. While full humanoid robots remain a future goal, OpenAI is steadily preparing the foundation to get there.
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