Figure AI has signed a commercial partnership with Catalyst Brands, the retail holding company controlling JCPenney, Brooks Brothers, and four other major brands, to deploy humanoid robots in a Reno, Nevada distribution center. The deal marks the first time Figure has secured a major retail deployment and represents a new playbook for how large diversified companies plan to integrate robotics across their operations.

What Makes This Deal Different From Other Robot Deployments?

Unlike previous Figure partnerships that focused on single industries like automotive manufacturing, this agreement with Catalyst Brands opens the door to deployment across multiple retail brands and distribution centers. Catalyst operates more than 1,800 retail locations, employs approximately 60,000 people, and generates over $9 billion in annual revenue. The robots will initially work on Catalyst's Joey Pouch sorting system, a computerized induction, sorting, and packing operation that the company upgraded with $40 million in infrastructure in 2024.

The partnership is not accidental. Both Figure and Catalyst Brands are backed by Brookfield, a major asset manager with over $1 trillion in assets. Brookfield invested in Figure's Series C funding round in September 2025 and committed to help build training data for Helix, Figure's proprietary vision-language-action model, which processes visual information and learns how to perform physical tasks. This common ownership structure allows Brookfield to deploy its AI infrastructure investments strategically across its portfolio companies.

How Will Figure's Robots Actually Be Used in Retail?

Figure's humanoid robots will handle physically demanding, repetitive tasks in the distribution center, such as sorting and packing items. Both companies frame this as augmentation rather than replacement, with the stated goal of freeing human workers for higher-skill roles. However, the actual economic impact will depend on how many robots eventually deploy, at what cost, and how those costs compare to human labor. No pricing details were disclosed for the Figure-Catalyst agreement.

The retail sector has been slower to adopt humanoid robots compared to logistics and automotive manufacturing. Agility Robotics' Digit robot currently leads commercial deployments, with paying contracts at Amazon, GXO Logistics, and Spanx warehouses. Goldman Sachs projects 50,000 to 100,000 humanoid units deployed by the end of 2026, with the United States and China as primary markets.

Steps to Understanding Figure's Growth Strategy

• Valuation and Production Capacity: Figure currently holds the highest private valuation in the humanoid robotics sector at $39 billion, following its September 2025 funding round. The company operates BotQ, a manufacturing facility targeting 12,000 units annually.
• Portfolio Deployment Model: Figure CEO Brett Adcock called the Catalyst deal a "playbook for how AI-driven hardware can serve as a primary growth engine for modern holding companies," signaling that Figure intends to sign umbrella deals with diversified companies that can deploy robots across multiple business units.
• Data Collection and Training: Brookfield's interest in Figure extends beyond financial returns. The asset manager wants the operational data that comes from deploying robots across its properties, which helps train and improve Helix, Figure's vision-language-action model.
• Industry Timing: Most analysts describe 2026 as an inflection point for humanoid commercialization, with production costs declining and capabilities improving. Most current deployments remain concentrated in logistics and manufacturing, while consumer applications are years away.

Catalyst Brands itself emerged in January 2025 when JCPenney and SPARC Group merged. Simon Property Group, Brookfield, Authentic Brands Group, and Shein are major shareholders. The company is led by Marc Rosen, the former JCPenney CEO.

The retail sector faces persistent staffing challenges, particularly in distribution centers where physically demanding roles struggle to attract and retain workers. Humanoid robots offer a standardized solution that can theoretically scale across facilities without requiring extensive infrastructure retrofits. For Figure, this deal validates the Brookfield strategy of using common ownership to accelerate deployment across portfolio companies and generate operational data that builds a defensible lead in real-world training environments.

The robots are starting in Reno, but the broader question for the industry is whether this model will expand across Catalyst's other distribution centers and retail operations. If successful, it could demonstrate how large conglomerates can use humanoid robots as a primary tool for operational scaling, potentially influencing how other diversified companies approach automation in the coming years.