Melania Trump welcomes humanoid robot to the White House
The White House crowd burst into applause as the robot joined the first lady for a grand entrance, walking down the cross hall and into the East Room, where it surveyed the crowd.
The humanoid figure kicked off the roundtable with brief remarks
“I’m Figure 3, a humanoid built in the United States of America. I am grateful to be part of this historic movement to empower children with technology and education,” it said.
The robot then said welcome in 11 different languages: English, Bengali, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese, Hebrew, Slovene, Ukrainian, Georgian.
The first lady thanked it for being there.
“It’s fair to state, you are my first American-made humanoid guest in the White House,” she said to laughter and applause.
The startup robotics company Figure AI, based in Sunnyvale, California, introduced Figure 03 in October 2025. The third-generation humanoid robot was designed for people to use for help with household tasks like laundry, cleaning and washing dishes, according to the company website.
There were 45 spouses from around the world at the event, including France’s Brigitte Macron.
Melania Trump used the event to argue humanoid systems are uniquely situated to teach children and give them a “more well-rounded lifestyle.”
Robot educators can offer “instantaneous” access to the classical studies and help create a “more complete person.”
The humanoid can provide a “personalized” experience for each child, she said.
The first lady urged the attendants to imagine a humanoid robot teacher named Plato, standing in front of a classroom.
“PLATO is always patient, and always available. Predictably, our children will develop deep critical thinking and independent reasoning abilities,” she said.
The first lady convened the two-day summit to explore the role of technology in education and in children’s lives.
