Meta Platforms is developing a humanoid robot with a Chinese manufacturer just as Washington tightens the definition of which robots can enter the US market. The arrangement places Meta’s emerging robotics business between access to Chinese production expertise and American rules favouring domestically manufactured hardware.
Back in September, the Federal Communications Commission placed foreign-produced advanced robotic devices on its national-security Covered List. New covered models generally cannot obtain the equipment authorizations needed for US commercial sales unless they receive conditional approval.
Qualifying robots must be manufactured in the US, with domestic components representing more than 65% of total component costs through 2028. That requirement increases to more than 75% in 2029.
Sponsored · Cambria Gold Mines
Meta’s current project is not a commercial product. The Information reported that Meta had worked with Shanghai-based Fourier on a prototype known as Max, citing people familiar with the initiative. The machine reportedly weighs about 106 pounds, stands roughly 1.5 metres tall, and was developed over three months.
The report described an internal demonstration in August, followed by work on a second prototype beginning in September.
Meta, responding to The Information, described the Fourier collaboration as “focused on internal research and experimentation” and said it had no plans to sell those units.
There is nevertheless a longer-term manufacturing question. The Information reported that Meta’s robotics vice president, Li-Chen Miller, spent nearly two months at Fourier’s Shanghai facility. It also identified recruitment activity in Shanghai and Shenzhen for engineering positions involving suppliers, prototypes, and potential production scaling.
The FCC has also proposed shrinking the general allowance for importing covered research devices without authorization from 4,000 units to 40, absent specific written permission.
Meta has not disclosed the project’s cost, a production budget, or a target price.
