Brett Adcock is an American entrepreneur and technology founder known for building companies in high-impact, capital-intensive industries. He is the Founder and CEO of Figure AI, a robotics company developing general-purpose humanoid robots.
Before Figure, he founded Vettery, a hiring marketplace acquired for over $100 million, and co-founded Archer Aviation, an electric aircraft company that later went public at a multi-billion-dollar valuation.
Across different sectors such as hiring, aviation, and robotics, one theme remains consistent: Adcock builds companies that fix inefficiencies at scale.
Brett Adcock was born on April 6, 1986, in Moweaqua, Illinois, where he grew up on a third-generation farm. This rural background shaped a practical mindset and strong work ethic early on.
He graduated as valedictorian of Central A&M High School and later earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida.
Before becoming a founder, Adcock worked in finance. He served as an investment banking analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and later as a hedge fund analyst. This early experience gave him exposure to capital markets, valuation, and large-scale business operations, skills that later helped him raise significant funding for his own ventures.
Vettery: Fixing Hiring Inefficiency
In 2013, Adcock founded Vettery, an online hiring marketplace designed to improve how companies connect with job candidates. Traditional recruiting was slow, expensive, and opaque. Vettery used data and software to make the process more transparent and efficient.
The platform grew rapidly. In 2018, the Adecco Group acquired Vettery for approximately $110 million. The business later merged with the hiring platform Hired.
This exit marked Adcock’s first major entrepreneurial success and demonstrated his ability to identify and fix friction in outdated systems.
Archer Aviation: Entering Hard Tech
In 2018, Adcock co-founded Archer Aviation alongside Adam Goldstein. The company focuses on developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed for short-distance urban air travel.
Archer aimed to address traffic congestion by introducing electric aircraft capable of operating in dense metropolitan areas. The company raised capital and went public in 2021 through a SPAC merger at a valuation of approximately $2.7 billion.
Adcock served as Co-Founder and Co-CEO in the early stages. In 2022, he stepped down from active leadership and board roles at Archer. The company continues operations under Adam Goldstein’s leadership.
The move into aviation showed Adcock’s willingness to take on complex, engineering-heavy industries that require long development timelines and major funding.
Figure AI: Building Humanoid Robots
In May 2022, Adcock founded Figure AI, headquartered in San Jose, California. The company’s mission is to build general-purpose humanoid robots capable of performing physical work in environments designed for humans.
Rather than designing robots for one narrow task, Figure focuses on creating machines that can walk, lift, grasp, and operate tools in warehouses, factories, and logistics centers. The strategy is simple: if robots can function in human environments without major redesign, they can scale faster.
Figure quickly attracted strong investor backing. In 2024, the company raised $675 million from investors including Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI Startup Fund, Intel, and Jeff Bezos, valuing the company at approximately $2.6 billion.
Figure has also formed partnerships with companies such as BMW to explore real-world industrial deployment.
Under Adcock’s leadership, Figure has demonstrated working humanoid prototypes and continues refining autonomy, mobility, and AI integration.
Leadership
Adcock’s leadership approach centers on speed, execution, and clear goals. He sets ambitious targets but emphasizes practical steps to reach them.
He prioritizes building strong engineering teams. Across his ventures, he has recruited talent from organizations such as Tesla, Boston Dynamics, Google DeepMind, and Apple’s advanced projects teams. He focuses less on hype and more on measurable technical progress.
He also raises substantial capital early to ensure companies have the runway required for complex hardware development.
Practical Impact
Each of Adcock’s ventures tackles a different inefficiency:
- Vettery improved hiring transparency and speed.
- Archer Aviation sought to modernize urban transportation.
- Figure AI addresses labor shortages in logistics and manufacturing.
Instead of incremental upgrades, his companies often aim for structural change by redesigning how work is done at a systems level.
Net Worth and Recognition
As of 2024, Forbes estimates Brett Adcock’s net worth at approximately $1.4 billion, largely tied to his holdings in Archer Aviation and Figure AI.
He is often cited as one of the new generation of entrepreneurs working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, robotics, and advanced hardware.
Personal Approach and Outlook
Adcock chooses industries that require long-term thinking and resilience. Robotics and aviation are not quick wins. They demand capital, engineering talent, and patience.
His current focus remains on scaling Figure AI by improving robot reliability, expanding enterprise partnerships, and preparing for broader commercial deployment.
If successful, humanoid robotics could reshape how physical labor is handled across multiple industries. This is the scale of the challenge he has chosen to pursue.
Brett Adcock’s career shows a consistent pattern: identify a large inefficiency, build technology to address it, assemble a capable team, and move quickly. Whether in hiring, aviation, or robotics, his approach remains grounded in execution and scale.
Image Credit – newatlas.com
