[Anthropic Aims to Address Robotics Shortcomings, Previously Considered Acquiring Physical Intelligence] According to monitoring by Beating, tech blogger Robert Scoble claims that Anthropic is in the process of acquiring robotics AI startup Physical Intelligence. The news spread quickly, but no deal has been finalized as of now. Physical Intelligence CEO Karol Hausman has internally denied the rumors. However, the speculation is not entirely baseless. The two parties did discuss an acquisition earlier this spring. Physical Intelligence is developing a general-purpose robotics foundational model, aiming to enable the same "brain" to control different robots and tasks. Co-founder Sergey Levine has described it as the "ChatGPT for robotics." Physical Intelligence has raised over $1 billion in funding and is currently in talks for an additional $1 billion round, which could push its valuation above $11 billion. The latest model, π0.7, can handle tasks it hasn't been specifically trained for under language guidance, but it still cannot independently complete complex multi-step operations with just a single instruction. Anthropic has already experimented with using Claude to control robotic dogs, but its public efforts have primarily remained in the realm of research and testing. Acquiring Physical Intelligence could directly bolster its capabilities in robotics control models, training data, and hardware expertise. [Original Article Link]