OpenAI Expands Robotics Division to Manufacture Personal and Infrastructure Hardware

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OpenAI is transitioning its world simulation research into a dedicated robotics division focused on programming and manufacturing physical hardware. The team aims to build robots that support skilled workers in infrastructure projects before eventually developing personal robots for general use.

OpenAI is expanding its world simulation research into a dedicated OpenAI Robotics division led by Aditya Ramesh. The company is launching a hiring push for hardware, operations, and systems engineers to program and manufacture physical robots. This effort relies on a co-design strategy where robotics hardware and ML research are developed simultaneously to ensure the systems work together effectively.
Team Lead
Aditya Ramesh
Hiring Roles
Hardware, Ops, Systems, and ML Engineers
Short-term Focus
Infrastructure support for skilled workers
Long-term Goal
Personal robots for general use
Core Methodology
Co-design of hardware and ML research

This move marks a return to physical AI, competing with the NVIDIA Cosmos 3 ecosystem. While others focus on turning models into controllers using CaP-X, OpenAI is pursuing a full-stack approach including manufacturing. This mirrors an industry shift toward heavy industry, similar to the Mistral AI industrial stack.

The division is focusing short-term efforts on robots that assist skilled workers with infrastructure development. Long-term, the team intends to produce personal robots for general tasks. Interested engineers with experience in hardware or robotics operations can apply directly via the company's dedicated recruiting channel to help build robots that are useful for society.

Sam Altman
Sam Altman
@sama
X

OpenAI Robotics is hiring, looking for exceptional full-stack hardware, ops, systems, and ML engineers to help us program and manufacture robots that are useful for society. AI should be able to help people in the physical world. In the short term, we are focused on robots to support skilled workers to build our future infrastructure; in the long term, we imagine everyone having a personal robot doing anything they need. Our world simulation research program, led by Aditya Ramesh (@model_mechanic), has evolved over the past year into OpenAI Robotics. Progress is rapid, and based on a foundation of co-design between robotics hardware and ML research. If you love working hands-on across the robotics stack and want to build the future, please consider joining us. Send an email with your background and evidence of exceptional accomplishment to: robotics-recruiting@openai.com

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Still wondering? A few quick answers below.

OpenAI Robotics is a dedicated division focused on programming and manufacturing physical robots. Evolving from the company's world simulation research program, the team utilizes a co-design strategy where hardware and machine learning are developed simultaneously to create robots for both industrial infrastructure and personal daily use.

The division is led by Aditya Ramesh, who previously headed OpenAI's world simulation research program. Under his leadership, the team has transitioned from virtual simulation research into a full-stack robotics operation that handles everything from system engineering to the physical manufacturing of robotic hardware.

In the short term, the division is focused on building robots that support skilled workers in developing future infrastructure. The long-term vision for the team is to create personal robots capable of assisting individuals with any daily tasks they need, effectively bringing AI capabilities into the physical world.

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