Robert Gründel, former head of product safety at the startup Figure AI, which develops humanoid robots and is backed by Nvidia, has sued the company. He claims he was unjustly fired after warning the startup's management that the company's robots "are strong enough to break a human skull."
Gründel's lawsuit was filed this week in the federal court for the Northern District of California. The plaintiff's attorneys position their client as a whistleblower who was fired from Figure AI in September, just days after he submitted documented safety concerns to the startup's management.
The lawsuit comes two months after Figure AI was valued at $39 billion in another funding round, with Parkway Venture Capital as the main investor. The startup's market value has increased 15 times compared to the beginning of 2024, when the company raised funds from investors such as Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, and Microsoft.
The lawsuit states that Gründel warned Figure AI CEO Brett Adcock and Chief Engineer Kyle Edelberg about the possibility that robots could cause serious harm to humans. He also reported that one of them, due to a malfunction, made a quarter-inch hole in a steel refrigerator door.
The document states that Gründel cautioned the management against "rolling back the safety roadmap" that he had previously presented to two potential investors, who ultimately funded the startup. Gründel expressed concerns that the "product safety plan that influenced their investment decision was effectively destroyed" back in the month when Figure AI completed its funding round.
The lawsuit claims that such actions could subsequently be viewed as fraud. It notes that the plaintiff's safety concerns were perceived by the management as "obstacles rather than fulfilling job duties." Ultimately, the company fired Gründel with a vague statement about "changing business direction." He is now seeking damages as well as compensation and penalties for Figure AI, insisting that the case be tried by a jury.
A representative of Figure AI, commenting on the matter, stated that Gründel "was fired for unsatisfactory performance," and that his "allegations are false, which Figure AI will refute in court."
