Brett Adcock

Brett Adcock
Adcock in 2022
Born (1986-04-06) April 6, 1986
EducationUniversity of Florida (BS)
OccupationTechnology entrepreneur
Years active2008–present
Known for
TitleChief executive officer, Figure AI
Children3
Websitebrettadcock.com

Brett Adcock (born April 6, 1986) is an American technology entrepreneur[6] and billionaire[7] who is the founder and chief executive officer of Figure AI.[8][9][10] In 2018, Adcock co-founded Archer Aviation,[11][12][13][14] five years after he co-founded Vettery.[15][16][17][18][19] In 2023, he established Cover.[5] As of June 2024, Forbes estimated his net worth as US$1.4 billion.[20][21]

Early life and education

Born on April 6, 1986, Adcock was raised on his family's third-generation farm outside Moweaqua, Illinois.[21][22] At the age of sixteen, Adcock began working on web companies, which included an e-commerce site focused on outdoor electronics and a content site called Street of Walls. He subsequently graduated as the valedictorian of Central A&M High School.[22]

Adcock studied at the University of Florida, initially majoring in industrial engineering, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2008.[22][23] During his collegiate education, Adcock was a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.[24]

Career

In 2013, Adcock co-founded Vettery[25] (which later became known as Hired),[26] a talent marketplace that matched job seekers with employers who needed technical expertise.[15] In 2018, the Adecco Group bought Vettery for $100 million.[21]

In October 2018, Adcock co-founded eVTOL company Archer Aviation.[27]

In May 2022 he founded Figure AI,[28] an artificial intelligence startup based in Sunnyvale that is working on a general-purpose humanoid robot.[8][29] Adcock assembled Figure's team from people working at Boston Dynamics, Tesla, Google DeepMind and Apple.[22][30] Adcock opined that the creation of humanoid robots will mitigate labor shortages.[30]

In October 2023, Adcock founded AI security company Cover to prevent school shootings in the United States. Cover uses licensed technology from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA.[5][31]

Personal life

Adcock resides in Palo Alto, California, with his wife and three children.[22][32] He has a penchant for the Robot series authored by Isaac Asimov, novels that influenced his career.[33]

He was included in the Time 2024 list of influential people in AI.[34]

References

  1. ^ Crumley, Bruce (May 11, 2022). "Archer cofounder resigns as its eVTOL air taxi pursues certification". DroneDJ.
  2. ^ Chatterley, Julia (host) (March 4, 2021). "United Airlines to buy electric flying taxis in $1 billion partnership". First Move. Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN. Retrieved May 4, 2023 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Alsup, Allison (February 21, 2018). "Brett Adcock (BSBA '08) & Adam Goldstein (BSBA '01)". UF Warrington News.
  4. ^ Huff, Steve (March 3, 2023). "Figure Humanoid Robot Startup Comes Out of Stealth". Entrepreneur.
  5. ^ a b c Heater, Brian (June 21, 2024). "A new startup from Figure's founder is licensing NASA tech in a bid to curb school shootings". TechCrunch.
  6. ^ Blain, Loz (April 10, 2023). "OpenAI and Figure join the race to humanoid robot workers". www.newatlas.com. Just this year, entrepreneur Brett Adcock, founder of the Vettery "online talent marketplace," and more recently Archer Aviation, one of the leading contenders in the emerging electric VTOL aircraft movement, announced his latest venture is focused on humanoid robots.
  7. ^ "Brett Adcock". Forbes.
  8. ^ a b "Robotique : Tesla n'est plus seul à dévoiler un robot humanoïde avancé". www.telesatellite.com (in French).
  9. ^ Tarafel, Jefferson (March 8, 2023). ""We are going to build a robot for every human being on the planet", says CEO of Archer".
  10. ^ Heater, Brian (September 22, 2022). "Archer's co-founder is bootstrapping an all-purpose humanoid robot". TechCrunch.
  11. ^ "Archer Aviation Co-Founders discuss when to expect electric vertical takeoff". Yahoo Finance. September 20, 2021.
  12. ^ "Flying Cars Will Reshape Our Congested Cities: Interview With Archer CEO Brett Adcock". The New York Observer. June 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Uranga, Rachel (June 19, 2022). "Look! Up in the sky! It's an air taxi. They're coming to Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ Levine Beckman, Brittany (June 10, 2021). "Archer reveals its Maker flying taxi, promising to lift us out of traffic hell". Mashable.
  15. ^ a b Jannarone, John (February 2, 2015). "Hedge fund analysts take Uber model to recruiting". CNBC.
  16. ^ Lee, Allen (August 7, 2022). "How Brett Adcock Achieved a Net Worth of $300 Million". Money Inc.
  17. ^ Schubarth, Cromwell (April 21, 2021). "Here's why Archer Aviation's founders believe it has the right air taxi team". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  18. ^ Ford, Jason. "Charged for Flight." (2022): 42-43.
  19. ^ Hofacker, Cat, and Alyssa Tomlinson. "Building vertiport cities." AEROSPACE AMERICA 59, no. 6 (2021): 22-32.
  20. ^ "Brett Adcock". Forbes. June 5, 2024.
  21. ^ a b c Dolan, Kerry A. (April 15, 2024). "Meet The New AI-Robot Billionaire". Forbes.
  22. ^ a b c d e Sproule, Holly (November 3, 2023). "AI is up and walking". University of Florida Warrington College of Business. Archived from the original on October 12, 2025. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  23. ^ "Brett Adcock (BSBA '08) & Adam Goldstein (BSBA '01) | February 2018". University of Florida Warrington College of Business. February 21, 2018. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. ^ University of Florida - Tower / Seminole Yearbook. University of Florida. 2006. p. 278.
  25. ^ Kim, Eugene (August 22, 2016). "This 25-person startup just raised $9 million using these 9 slides". Business Insider.
  26. ^ Ha, Anthony (November 23, 2020). "Vettery acquires Hired to create a 'unified' job search platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  27. ^ Garsten, Ed (June 10, 2021). "Archer Aviation Unveils Electric Vertical Takeoff/Landing Air Taxi". Forbes.
  28. ^ Heater, Brian (September 22, 2022). "Archer's co-founder is bootstrapping an all-purpose humanoid robot". TechCrunch.
  29. ^ Kingson, Jennifer A. (March 17, 2023). "Humanoid robots are coming". Axios.
  30. ^ a b Blain, Loz (September 27, 2023). "Figure's Brett Adcock on the practicalities of humanoid robot workers". New Atlas.
  31. ^ May, Tom (August 7, 2024). "Tech startups aim to prevent school shootings using AI and smart camera tech". Digital Camera World.
  32. ^ Lee, Allen (August 7, 2022). "How Brett Adcock Achieved a Net Worth of $300 Million". Money Inc. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  33. ^ "Figure vs. Tesla: Who Leads the Humanoid Robot Revolution?". Peter Diamandis. March 3, 2024.
  34. ^ "The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2024". TIME. Retrieved September 27, 2024.