Zuckerberg is building humanoid robots, but Meta’s first prototype was developed by a Chinese company in just three months. The company is called Fourier Intelligence. It originally specialized in rehabilitation exoskeletons before shifting to humanoid robots. The machine named Max was adapted from its existing GR series: it stands about 1.5 meters tall, features a screen face capable of displaying expressions, and has five fingers that can pick up small bottles. Meta wants Max to serve as the “body” for its AI assistant, Muse. AI that can only chat isn’t enough—it needs to be able to act in the physical world. To develop this robot, Meta’s vice president responsible for robotics spent nearly two months at Fourier’s factory in Shanghai. Max was unveiled internally in late August, and by September, the second generation was already in development. Meta publicly claims these robots are solely for internal research and not intended for sale. Yet it has already begun hiring in Shanghai and Shenzhen, with job postings explicitly mentioning preparations for scaling from prototype to mass production. The AI is Meta’s own, but its first body was borrowed from China.