OpenAI Dismantles Standalone Robotics Team as it Bets on Bigger AI Models

Benzinga · 14h ago

OpenAI is dismantling its dedicated robotics team and folding employees into broader research and product groups, signaling a shift toward using its general-purpose AI models to power robots rather than developing robotics as a separate research effort.

Fortune first reported the restructuring, and OpenAI told the publication that robotics remains part of its long-term strategy and the changes are intended to accelerate progress.

Robotics research will move under Chief Research Officer Mark Chen, while applied robotics and hardware efforts will become part of the applied organization led by President Greg Brockman.

The change was also noticeable at CoRL, an academic robotics conference held in Austin this week. OpenAI had a booth listed at the event, but the space was empty when Fortune visited.

OpenAI’s robotics ambitions have undergone several changes over the years. The company wound down earlier robotics efforts in 2020 before rebuilding the program in 2024, including a collaboration with humanoid robotics startup Figure. That partnership ended in February 2025 after Figure announced plans to develop its own AI models for robots.

OpenAI has since pursued its own humanoid robotics project, with CEO Sam Altman reportedly targeting an initial public demonstration in 2027.

The latest restructuring reflects the company’s growing confidence that advances in general-purpose AI can translate directly into robotics. OpenAI told Fortune that it initially expected progress to build on research such as Sora, but later concluded that its frontier models, including GPT-6 Astra, could handle robotics tasks without requiring a separate organizational structure.

Research is also beginning to show that general-purpose models can compete with specialized robotics systems in certain tasks. Fortune cited an Nvidia simulation study in which an Astra-based agent achieved a 74.8% success rate, compared with 51% for leading specialized models on the same benchmark.

The restructuring also comes as OpenAI faces pressure to prioritize core projects and rein in spending. 

Fortune reported that Altman has urged employees to abandon "side quests" as the company reallocates computing resources, pursues another funding round and prepares for a potential IPO in early 2027. The company has also scaled back other initiatives, including Sora.

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