The Robots that Could Beat Optimus to Space

Before we get to our column, we should acknowledge OpenAI’s latest chip deal, this time with Broadcom, announced Monday morning. The Information first reported the two companies were in talks in July of last year but a lot has happened since then. Most obviously, OpenAI has also struck deals for supplies of AI chips with both Nvidia and AMD. We’ll write about the implications on this in the days and weeks to come…

Last week, my colleague Theo reported on the setbacks afflicting Tesla’s Optimus robots. Designing a humanoid robot involves some thorny engineering problems, especially when it comes to their five-fingered hands. Those issues could delay Elon Musk’s plans for Optimus to walk on Mars next year. Making matters worse, the robot has been designed for indoor use on Earth, where temperatures are much warmer and the air is less dusty.

But other robot-makers are also targeting space, and since they’re not wed to the humanoid form factor, they could potentially get there before Tesla.

For example, four-year-old startup Inversion recently announced Arc, its flagship delivery vehicle, which is sort of like a self-driving space Waymo. Arc is designed to drop off a trunk's worth of materials, starting with military supplies, to any place on Earth in an hour by traveling through orbit, which is faster than flying cargo on a plane through the atmosphere. Inversion already flew an earlier prototype this year on SpaceX’s Transporter-12 ride share mission, and aims to send Arc to space next year.