Former Figure AI principal robotic safety engineer Robert Gruendel sued the company in the Northern District of California, alleging he was dismissed in September 2025 after warning executives that the company's humanoid robots were powerful enough to fracture a human skull, and citing a malfunction in which a robot carved a quarter-inch gash into a steel refrigerator door.
- Date of incident
- 2025-09-01
- Location
- Northern District of California, USA
- Sources
- 5
Established by a regulator or court document, linked below.
How the event developed
- 2025-11-21Lawsuit
Docket No. 5:25-cv-10094 filed in District Court, N.D. California: civil suit against Figure AI.
courtlistener.com - 2025-12-01Follow-up
Former Figure AI principal robotic safety engineer a person filed a lawsuit alleging he was fired in September 2025 after warning executives that the company's humanoid robots were powerful enough to fracture a human skull, citing an incident in which a malfunctioning robot narrowly missed an employee and carved a quarter-inch gash into a steel refrigerator door.
en.as.com
Every claim above traces to one of these
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- cnbc.comFigure AI sued by former safety engineer2025-11-21copy 2026-10-29tier 1
- courtlistener.comGruendel v. Figure AI, Inc., District Court, N.D. California, No. 5:25-cv-100942025-11-21copy 2026-10-30tier 1
- techspot.comFormer Figure AI principal robotic safety engineer Robert Gruendel sued the company in the Northern District of California, alleging he was dismissed in September 2025 after warning executives that the company's humanoid robots were powerful enough to fracture a human skull, and citing a malfunction in which a robot carved a quarter-inch gash into a steel refrigerator door.2025-11-22copy 2026-10-19tier 2
- gizmodo.comA whistleblower lawsuit filed by former Figure AI safety engineer Robert Gruendel alleges the company rushed commercialization of its humanoid robot without adequate safety procedures, and that impact tests showed the robot could generate force more than twice sufficient to fracture an adult human skull, before Gruendel was terminated in September 2025.2025-11-22copy 2026-10-21tier 2
- en.as.comFormer Figure AI principal robotic safety engineer Robert Gruendel filed a lawsuit alleging he was fired in September 2025 after warning executives that the company's humanoid robots were powerful enough to fracture a human skull, citing an incident in which a malfunctioning robot narrowly missed an employee and carved a quarter-inch gash into a steel refrigerator door.2025-12-01copy 2026-10-21tier 2
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