OpenAI is quietly rebuilding its robotics team and may be eyeing humanoid systems

Wired reports that OpenAI is stepping back into robotics, with new hiring pointing toward work on humanoid machines.

According to job postings, the company is assembling a team focused on training robots through teleoperation and simulation. OpenAI is also seeking engineers specializing in sensing and prototyping. The listings describe the team’s mission as building "general-purpose robots" that could help push progress toward AGI.

It’s not confirmed that the effort targets humanoids, but signs point that way. New hires include Stanford researcher Chengshu Li, who worked on benchmarks for humanoid household robots. That makes it likely OpenAI’s robotics push could center on humanlike systems.

OpenAI shut down its robotics work in 2020, citing a lack of training data. But the company began posting robotics roles again in January, signaling a renewed focus on physical AI after a five-year pause.