Anthropic and Physical Intelligence were reportedly in acquisition talks this spring, according to a source familiar with the matter. The rumor, first amplified by tech blogger Robert Scoble on X, spread quickly despite a denial from Physical Intelligence’s chief executive officer, Karol Hausman, who replied to employees with a Slack message featuring a "The Office" gif shaking her head.
Physical Intelligence is not a little‑known robotics shop. Co‑founded by Lachy Groom, the San Francisco‑based startup has secured over $1 billion in funding and was said to be courting another $1 billion round at an $11 billion valuation earlier this year. Its π0.5 model is among the most widely used robot brains in academic research, and its investor roster mirrors that of OpenAI, including Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital and Founders Fund.
Anthropic, which has completed four acquisitions in 2024, filed for an initial public offering on June 1. Its rival, OpenAI, filed a week later and has already invested in Physical Intelligence, giving the AI giant a direct stake in the company that Anthropic was courting.
The interest in robotics reflects a broader strategic shift. Both Anthropic and OpenAI have signaled that understanding the physical world may be essential for next‑generation artificial intelligence. OpenAI’s history includes an early robotic hand that solved a Rubik’s Cube, a shutdown of its robotics team in 2021, and a quiet rebuild of a humanoid lab in 2024. In late May, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly announced the formation of "OpenAI Robotics" and began hiring for projects ranging from infrastructure work to personal robots.
Anthropic’s approach has been more research‑focused. In November, the company launched Project Fetch, testing how its Claude model could assist non‑experts in programming a robot dog. A follow‑up in June claimed the newer model completed the same tasks roughly twenty times faster than a human‑plus‑Claude team a year earlier. Acquiring an existing team with proven robotics expertise would let Anthropic bypass years of development.
The overlap in investors adds a layer of complexity. Founders Fund, a major backer of OpenAI, participated in Physical Intelligence’s latest funding round, and OpenAI itself is listed as an investor. Those relationships raise the question of whether OpenAI holds any right of first refusal or other protective provisions that could influence the outcome of any sale.
When asked for comment, OpenAI declined to respond. Physical Intelligence’s CEO reiterated the denial, while Groom did not return a request for comment. The episode highlights the intensifying competition among AI powerhouses to integrate real‑world capabilities, a race that could shape the next wave of public offerings and market dynamics in the sector.
This article was written with the assistance of AI.
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