Brett Adcock

Brett Adcock
Adcock in 2022
Born (1986-04-06) April 6, 1986
Moweaqua, Illinois, U.S.
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[7] and billionaire[8] who is the founder and chief executive officer of Figure AI.[9][10][11] In 2018, Adcock co-founded Archer Aviation,[12][13][14][15] five years after he co-founded Vettery.[16][17][18][19][20] He established Cover in 2023,[3] and Hark in 2025.[2] As of February 2026, Forbes and The New York Times estimate his net worth at US$19 billion.[21][22]

Early life and education

Born on April 6, 1986, Adcock was raised on his family's third-generation farm outside Moweaqua, Illinois.[23][24] 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.[24]

Adcock studied at the University of Florida, initially majoring in industrial engineering, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2008.[24][25] During his collegiate education, Adcock was a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.[26]

Career

In 2013, Adcock co-founded Vettery[27] (which later became known as Hired),[28] a talent marketplace that matched job seekers with employers who needed technical expertise.[16] Adcock started the company out of NYU's Varick Street Incubator.[29] In 2018, the Adecco Group bought Vettery for $100 million.[23]

In October 2018, Adcock co-founded eVTOL company Archer Aviation.[30] He provided a research grant at the University of Florida to start the company, which ultimately headquartered in Palo Alto, California.[31] In February 2021, Archer went public on the New York Stock Exchange.[32][33]

In May 2022 he founded Figure AI,[34] an artificial intelligence startup based in Sunnyvale that is working on a general-purpose humanoid robot.[9][35] Adcock assembled Figure's team from people working at Boston Dynamics, Tesla, Google DeepMind and Apple.[24][36] Adcock opined that the creation of humanoid robots will mitigate labor shortages,[36] and in an October 2025 interview with Time, stated that within 10 years, "every home will have a humanoid."[37] Adcock tested the company’s humanoid robots in his home.[37]

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.[3][38]

In 2025, Adcock founded Hark, a startup working on AI models and next-generation AI hardware devices.[39][40] He has been self-funding the company.[2]

Personal life

Adcock resides in Palo Alto, California, with his wife and three children.[24][41] He has a penchant for the Robot series authored by Isaac Asimov, novels that influenced his career.[42] During a Time photoshoot, Adcock played croquet in his Bay Area weekend home.[37]

Recognition

He was included in the Time 2024 list of influential people in AI.[43]

References

  1. ^ Huff, Steve (March 3, 2023). "Figure Humanoid Robot Startup Comes Out of Stealth". Entrepreneur.
  2. ^ a b c Turner, Nick (January 6, 2026), Apple Designer Behind iPhone Air Is Joining the AI Startup Hark, retrieved February 21, 2026
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Crumley, Bruce (May 11, 2022). "Archer cofounder resigns as its eVTOL air taxi pursues certification". DroneDJ.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Alsup, Allison (February 21, 2018). "Brett Adcock (BSBA '08) & Adam Goldstein (BSBA '01)". UF Warrington News.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Brett Adcock". Forbes.
  9. ^ a b "Robotique : Tesla n'est plus seul à dévoiler un robot humanoïde avancé". www.telesatellite.com (in French).
  10. ^ Tarafel, Jefferson (March 8, 2023). ""We are going to build a robot for every human being on the planet", says CEO of Archer".
  11. ^ Heater, Brian (September 22, 2022). "Archer's co-founder is bootstrapping an all-purpose humanoid robot". TechCrunch.
  12. ^ "Archer Aviation Co-Founders discuss when to expect electric vertical takeoff". Yahoo Finance. September 20, 2021.
  13. ^ "Flying Cars Will Reshape Our Congested Cities: Interview With Archer CEO Brett Adcock". The New York Observer. June 7, 2021.
  14. ^ Uranga, Rachel (June 19, 2022). "Look! Up in the sky! It's an air taxi. They're coming to Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ Levine Beckman, Brittany (June 10, 2021). "Archer reveals its Maker flying taxi, promising to lift us out of traffic hell". Mashable.
  16. ^ a b Jannarone, John (February 2, 2015). "Hedge fund analysts take Uber model to recruiting". CNBC.
  17. ^ Lee, Allen (August 7, 2022). "How Brett Adcock Achieved a Net Worth of $300 Million". Money Inc.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Ford, Jason. "Charged for Flight." (2022): 42-43.
  20. ^ Hofacker, Cat, and Alyssa Tomlinson. "Building vertiport cities." AEROSPACE AMERICA 59, no. 6 (2021): 22-32.
  21. ^ "Brett Adcock". Forbes. December 15, 2025. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  22. ^ Rocha, Natallie (December 29, 2025). "The New Billionaires of the A.I. Boom". The New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  23. ^ a b Dolan, Kerry A. (April 15, 2024). "Meet The New AI-Robot Billionaire". Forbes.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ "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)
  26. ^ University of Florida - Tower / Seminole Yearbook. University of Florida. 2006. p. 278.
  27. ^ Kim, Eugene (August 22, 2016). "This 25-person startup just raised $9 million using these 9 slides". Business Insider.
  28. ^ Ha, Anthony (November 23, 2020). "Vettery acquires Hired to create a 'unified' job search platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  29. ^ Lee, Allen (August 7, 2022). "How Brett Adcock Achieved a Net Worth of $300 Million". Money Inc.
  30. ^ Garsten, Ed (June 10, 2021). "Archer Aviation Unveils Electric Vertical Takeoff/Landing Air Taxi". Forbes.
  31. ^ Alsup, Allison (March 26, 2021). "UF Warrington alumni taking intracity travel to new heights". UF Warrington News.
  32. ^ Rucinski, Tracy; Nishant, Niket (February 10, 2021). "Archer to go public, United Airlines invests and orders electric aircraft". Reuters.
  33. ^ Bogaisky, Jeremy (February 10, 2021). "Archer To Go Public In Reverse Merger As United Airlines Places Order For Its Electric Air Taxis To Shuttle Passengers To Airport". Forbes.
  34. ^ Heater, Brian (September 22, 2022). "Archer's co-founder is bootstrapping an all-purpose humanoid robot". TechCrunch.
  35. ^ Kingson, Jennifer A. (March 17, 2023). "Humanoid robots are coming". Axios.
  36. ^ a b Blain, Loz (September 27, 2023). "Figure's Brett Adcock on the practicalities of humanoid robot workers". New Atlas.
  37. ^ a b c Perrigo, Billy (October 9, 2025). "The Robot in Your Kitchen". TIME. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  38. ^ May, Tom (August 7, 2024). "Tech startups aim to prevent school shootings using AI and smart camera tech". Digital Camera World.
  39. ^ Palazzolo, Stephanie (December 18, 2025). "Exclusive: Figure CEO Brett Adcock Launches New AI Lab With $100 Million in Funding". The Information. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  40. ^ Drew, Rocket (January 6, 2026). "AI Lab Hark Hires Leadership from Apple, Meta". The Information. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
  41. ^ Lee, Allen (August 7, 2022). "How Brett Adcock Achieved a Net Worth of $300 Million". Money Inc. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  42. ^ "Figure vs. Tesla: Who Leads the Humanoid Robot Revolution?". Peter Diamandis. March 3, 2024.
  43. ^ "The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2024". TIME. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
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