Figure Retired Its Old Robots by Sending Them Into Molten Steel

1  DoorDash wins FAA approval to run its own drone delivery airline

With an FAA Part 135 air carrier certificate in hand, DoorDash can now operate DoorDash Air, its own drone fleet, alongside its regular marketplace. The drones target mid-range orders of 3 to 5 miles, and in 2025 they averaged 25 minutes per delivery. Watch a drone drop-off (1.4M views).

2  Figure sends its retired F.02 robots into a vat of molten steel

To mark the end of its F.02 line, Figure trained the robots to walk off and jump, on their own, into a 75-ton pot of molten steel at a foundry in Finland. The company says the idea came from Arnold Schwarzenegger, a clear nod to the ending of Terminator 2. Read Figure's explanation or watch the strange farewell (1.8M views).

3  Anthropic finds robots could do a third of US work hours, but rarely at a lower cost

A new Anthropic report estimates that today's robots can already handle tasks covering 34% of US working hours, mostly in controlled settings like warehouses and factories. The obstacle is cost. Robots are cheaper than people for only 0.3% of tasks right now, and that share may reach just 10% over the next 40 years.

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Robot diplomats. At a Chinese Embassy reception in Riyadh, two Chinese-built robots performed the Najdi Ardah, a ceremonial sword dance recognized by UNESCO, in front of senior Saudi and Chinese officials.

Laundry day. In an hour-long demo with no cuts, Dyna Robotics' Taku loaded and started washing machines, emptied the dryers, folded towels, sorted them by size, and put them on shelves, all without any human help.

Launch-site cleaning. Two days before Starship's Flight 14, a large drone cleaned the windows of SpaceX's launch-control room at Starbase, so the team would have a clear view on launch day (2.5M views). Flight 14 went on to become Starship's first mission to hold orbit and deploy working satellites.

MIT engineers built a paper-thin robot that swims using living muscle cells, and they steer it with light.

Amazon confirmed its $100M+ manufacturing hub in Indiana, which will build more warehouse robots by 2028.

The Pentagon set up an Autonomous Warfare Command to expand AI, drones, and robotics across the US military.

Tesla is reportedly producing hundreds of Optimus robots a week, though most stay in internal testing because of reliability and generalization problems.

Agari's AI Smart Cooker combines a sous vide machine and a grill in one countertop unit. It scans your food with AI, pressure-cooks it in about a third of the usual time, and then gives a steak a full sear in under 60 seconds. See it cook.