Figure and the British computing infrastructure provider Nscale have agreed on a multi-year partnership that secures the robotics startup access to graphics processors worth $3.5 billion. This amount exceeds the company’s total previous funding of around $1.9 billion. In return, Nscale is entering as an investor in Figure.
Nscale to deliver up to 100,000 graphics processors starting in 2027
The agreement between Figure and Nscale was announced on September 3, 2026. It stipulates that Nscale will provide the robotics company access to up to 100,000 graphics processors. The chips come from the new Nvidia platform Vera Rubin. According to the joint statement from Figure and Nscale, the first systems are expected to go online in the second half of 2027 in Barstow, West Texas. The initial commitment is $3.5 billion. Both companies announce plans to expand the scope to more than $6 billion in the future. In return, Nscale will receive an equity stake in Figure and will become its preferred provider of computing infrastructure. The exact size of the stake was not disclosed by either company. Figure founder Brett Adcock explains in the joint partnership announcement that the company is currently limited in the further development of its humanoid robot model primarily by a lack of training data and computing capacity. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang describes the cooperation as a self-reinforcing cycle of physical AI. Models are expected to be transferred to operational robots more quickly as a result. Figure recently increased the production of its humanoid Figure 03 from one unit per day to one unit per hour within a few months. The additional computing demand is also justified by this mass production.
Figure’s funding lags behind the commitment
The gap between the commitment and the current capital base is striking. According to funding reports, Figure has raised a total of around $1.9 billion. Of this, over $1 billion comes from the Series C round in September 2025, which valued the company at $39 billion. The new computing power commitment of $3.5 billion is therefore almost double the total previous funding. As the specialist portal eWeek categorizes it, the amount is not an immediately due payment. Instead, it is a multi-year commitment. The exact payment plan has not been independently verified. It remains unclear how Figure intends to refinance the expenses over the contract term. Further funding rounds appear likely in parallel. Neither Figure nor Nscale has specified what share Figure will cover from its own resources. It is also unclear what share Nscale will pre-finance through its own equity stake. Such a discrepancy between revenue base and infrastructure expenses is not uncommon for robotics startups. The Chinese startup Dexmal is also currently negotiating a new funding round to finance its growth.
Barstow already consolidates Microsoft’s computing load
The location of Barstow in Texas is not new territory for Nscale. It should not be confused with the more well-known Barstow in California along Route 66. In October 2025, the company had already signed a contract with Microsoft. It includes up to 104,000 graphics processors in a 240-megawatt facility at the same site, as reported by Data Center Knowledge. Nscale itself secured $1.1 billion in a Series B round in September 2025. The funds are intended for the expansion of its own data center network in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. During the same period, the company invested an additional $865 million in a facility in North Carolina. Just in August 2026, Nscale had also sealed a $45 billion deal with Anthropic for a data center in West Virginia. The Figure deal thus joins a growing number of similar agreements. Cloud providers are exchanging computing capacity for equity stakes in AI and robotics companies. A comparable case is Nvidia’s Rubin chip delivery to a Japanese AI factory for industrial robots. For Figure, the consolidation of several large customers at the same location promises faster access to already existing energy and cooling infrastructure. This makes the commissioning starting in 2027 appear more realistic than a completely new data center location.
It will be crucial whether Figure can actually call upon the promised billions. Raising additional equity in the meantime would be a setback for the young company. The Series C valuation of $39 billion currently exists only on paper. The computing power commitment, on the other hand, will become due in reality. A first test will be the second half of 2027, when the first Vera Rubin systems are expected to be operational in Barstow.
