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Figure AI launches Index App; pays people to document everyday tasks for training robots

The humanoid robot maker says its new mobile app has drawn 264,000 downloads and paid $15 million to contributors since testing began.

September 1, 2026 by Nisha

A humanoid robot with a glossy black helmet-shaped head and white-and-black body, labeled "F.03," sits at a coffee table in a bright, modern living room. It holds a small toy car in one hand while reaching toward a stuffed toy in a woven basket with its other hand. A laptop, books, and decorative objects sit on the table nearby, with a marble fireplace, framed artwork, and soft furnishings visible in the background.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Figure AI has launched Index, a platform that pays people to record themselves doing everyday tasks, aiming to build a training data set for the company's Helix artificial intelligence system.

The app that is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play can help creators film their own chores, such as folding laundry or tidying a kitchen. The users can even request another paid Creator to come and perform tasks at their home or business. The company in a public statement, describes it as building toward a future where its Figure humanoid robots, not human contractors, handle those requests.

Figure further reports 264,000 app downloads, 16 million video uploads and contributors in 108 countries, with $15 million paid out to contributors so far in the ‘stealth-mode testing period’. However, the company has not disclosed a per-minute pay rate or detailed how contributor payments are calculated.

Figure has pursued this approach for months now, with "Helix data creators" and robot pilots who wear teleoperation gear to guide the company's machines and upload the resulting data. Furthermore, the company stated that it will invest more than $1 billion in data and computing resources in the next twelve months.

Figure AI’s push for more real-world data follows a $1 billion-plus Series C funding round in September 2025 that valued the company at $39 billion, with them saying the raise would help fund what it called advanced data collection efforts, according to an earlier announcement.