Brett Adcock is a serial entrepreneur and founder/CEO of Figure AI, building general-purpose humanoid robots for labor automation. He previously founded Veteri, an AI-driven talent marketplace acquired for $100 million, co-founded Archer Aviation developing electric vertical takeoff aircraft, and founded Cover, an AI security company using NASA technology to detect concealed weapons in schools. In late 2025, he launched HARC, a new AI lab self-funded with $100 million to build human-centric AI.

The conversation covers Adcock's journey from a 700-person farming town in Illinois to building four revolutionary companies simultaneously. He discusses Figure's breakthrough achievements, including robots working six-month shifts at BMW manufacturing facilities and the development of neural networks that eliminated over 100,000 lines of code. The discussion also explores his contentious split with OpenAI, the technical challenges of humanoid robotics, and his vision for a future where robots handle all manual labor.

Adcock reveals details about Cover's terahertz radar technology for school security, Archer Aviation's progress toward FAA certification for flying cars, and HARC's mission to create post-smartphone AI devices. Throughout the interview, he emphasizes the non-linear relationship between difficulty and opportunity, arguing that harder problems often yield disproportionately larger outcomes for entrepreneurs willing to tackle seemingly impossible challenges.

From Farm Boy to AI Pioneer: The Unlikely Journey

Adcock grew up in Muikwa, Illinois, population 700, on a third-generation corn and soybean farm before transitioning to AI and robotics

His father instilled an entrepreneurial mindset early: 'if you want to control your destiny and make money, you need to run your own business' - Brett

Started multiple internet startups in high school and college, selling electronics and doing legion marketing to make money without growing up wealthy

His brother Colby runs Scout, an AI defense company, and they live one block apart in California after growing up together

Veteri: Building the AI Recruiting Revolution

Founded Veteri in 2012 as an AI recruiting marketplace after experiencing the broken job application process in college

The platform processed 20,000-30,000 interview requests weekly using algorithms with minimal human involvement

Went into debt in 2015 during difficult times, but the business 'completely hockey sticked in growth' when they figured out the model

Sold to the world's largest recruiting company (Deco Group) for $110 million in 2017-2018 after they approached unsolicited

Archer Aviation: Electric Flying Cars Become Reality

Started Archer in 2018 to build electric vertical takeoff aircraft that can nestle inside cities, eliminating hour-long commutes

Taught himself aerospace engineering by buying 'every possible book' and attending NASA-sponsored courses on electrification and rotorcraft

Electric motors maintain 90% efficiency at any size, enabling 12 small rotors instead of one large helicopter rotor for redundancy

Went public through SPAC process, raising $1 billion despite being sued by Boeing and Larry Page's Kitty Hawk during the process

Aircraft flies at 2,000-3,000 feet above ground level at 150 mph with FAA certification requiring one-in-a-billion-hour reliability

Envisions Uber-style service at $40 per trip with 30-minute point-to-point travel, operating from neighborhood Vertiports

Figure AI: Humanoids Working Real Jobs Today

Started Figure in 2022 believing humanoid robots were finally possible with electric actuators and neural networks instead of hydraulic systems

Self-funded the first year, reaching $1 million monthly burn rate by month four with a 40-person team

Had Figure 1 walking within 12 months of incorporation, 'with two days left in the year' - Brett

Humanoid robots have 'more states than atoms in the universe' due to 40 degrees of freedom, making traditional coding impossible

Figure robots worked six-month shifts at BMW manufacturing, building X3 and X5 vehicles daily for 10 hours straight

Current robots run 24/7 shifts autonomously, with damaged robots limping to 'hospital' while healthy ones automatically substitute

Manufacturing one robot every 90 minutes in California with seven robots doing their own quality control and burn-in testing

The OpenAI Breakup: When Students Become Competitors

OpenAI and Microsoft co-led Figure's $700 million Series B funding round with Sam Altman joining the board

Spent a year collaborating on advancing AI models for humanoid robots, but Figure's internal team consistently outperformed

'We ran circles around them every day' and had difficulty getting OpenAI team members to visit the office regularly - Brett

OpenAI called saying they were considering internal robotics work after watching Figure's progress, prompting immediate termination

OpenAI had originally been a robotics company from 2016-2020 before pivoting to large language models

The partnership created recruiting challenges as candidates assumed Figure used OpenAI's models rather than developing internally

Cover: Stopping School Shootings with Terahertz Technology

School shootings increased 10x over a decade, from 30-40 events annually to over 300, mostly in the US

Discovered terahertz radar technology at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, originally developed for Iraq/Afghanistan standoff weapon detection

Technology operates at 200-600 gigahertz radio frequencies, seeing through backpacks and clothing from 10-30 meters away

90% of school shootings are unplanned events where students bring guns habitually and use them during fights

Redesigned the entire system to reduce costs from $50,000 components to $7 chips, making it affordable for schools

Plans beta testing in schools by end of 2025, starting with Figure's campus, targeting 130,000 K-12 schools nationwide

HARC: Building the Post-iPhone AI Future

Launched HARC in summer 2024 as a self-funded $100 million AI lab to design what comes after the iPhone

Current AI systems are 'so stupid' - they don't remember conversations, can't see the world, and can't perform real tasks like ordering food

Team includes the lead designer from iPhone 15, 16, and 17, focusing on hardware designed specifically for AI interaction

Developing multimodal AI systems with perfect memory that know everything about users and can act as personal coaches

Plans to replace phones and computers with native AI systems that are 'always on, always thinking, always understanding'

Expected to come out of stealth mode shortly after this interview airs, representing a fundamental interface revolution

The Philosophy of Impossible: Why Harder Problems Are Easier

Believes 'harder things are easier' due to non-linear effects - building Figure is only 3-5x harder than simpler robots but millions of times bigger opportunity

Ambitious projects attract the world's best talent who want to work on revolutionary technology rather than incremental improvements

Venture capital and public markets want 100x or 1000x returns, not 2x, making ambitious projects more fundable

'There's no rulebook for this' and most advice comes from people who haven't built successful companies - Brett

95% of entrepreneurs fail, but 'if you don't quit, you won't die' - persistence is the ultimate differentiator

Sacrificed personal relationships and hobbies to focus exclusively on family and companies: 'I'm a shitty college friend' - Brett