Meta built a humanoid prototype with China's Fourier, report says
The prototype, known inside Meta as Max, was built in about three months. A second version is underway, but neither company has confirmed the report.
Meta has built a prototype humanoid robot with Chinese startup Fourier and is already working on a second version, The Information reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the initiative. Reuters carried the report and said it could not immediately verify it. Neither company has published specifications or images of the machine, and neither has commented publicly.
The prototype is known inside Meta as Max, according to the report. It was assembled in about three months, stands about 1.5 meters tall and weighs about 106 pounds. It runs on Nvidia's Jetson Thor chip, carries a display that can mimic facial expressions, built-in speakers and five-fingered hands built to grip small objects.
Max was shown to Meta employees at an internal robotics summit in late August, the report said. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has described the machine as a physical embodiment of the company's Muse AI, with the goal of building robots that can take on household chores. Meta's robotics team traveled to China for the collaboration, and Li-Chen Miller, the company's vice president of product for robotics, spent close to two months at Fourier's factory in Shanghai.
Work on the second version began in September. The follow-up is expected to carry a redesigned torso, improved hands for manipulating objects, a projector and extra sensors to help it navigate stairs, along with other routine upgrades, according to the report. Meta told the outlet the Fourier work is aimed at internal research and experimentation, that it has no plans to sell the units and that no launch date has been set.
Meta set up its dedicated robotics group inside Reality Labs in February 2025, led by former Cruise chief executive Marc Whitten, and acquired humanoid AI startup Assured Robot Intelligence in May 2026. Fourier, founded in 2015, calls its GR-1, launched in 2023, the industry's first mass-produced humanoid, and released the GR-3 series in 2025. The partnership, if the report holds, would put Meta's software-first robotics strategy on a Chinese-built body — and test how far a US tech giant can go working with a Chinese hardware partner at a moment when Washington is tightening the rules on exactly that kind of collaboration.