Sam Altman: OpenAI humanoid demo in 2027

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is building a humanoid robot, a robot shaped like a person. A job ad OpenAI put up on the 21st of October 2026 names "OpenAI's humanoid robots".

"I think we'll have a cool demo in 2027," Sam Altman, the boss of OpenAI, told Fortune on the 15th of September 2026. A demo is a first show of the robot at work.

Sam Altman's own words on two shows in September 2026

"We will definitely do a humanoid," Altman said on the Sources podcast, Humanoids Daily reported on the 2nd of September 2026. A podcast is a talk show online.

He said OpenAI will build robots of other shapes too. The body matters less than "the brain that makes the robot work", he said, The Robotics Media reported.

The brain is the AI, the computer program that sees, plans and moves. "I don't think there will be robots walking the streets for a few years longer," Altman told Fortune.

Below we break down the 15 robot jobs on OpenAI's job page

On the 23rd of October 2026, OpenAI had 15 open robot jobs on its job page, by our count.

Four jobs are about motors and the parts that bend a robot's joints. Five are about the boards of chips that run a machine.

The ad of the 21st of October wants a person to build the computer inside the robot. That computer runs the robot's AI.

It pays 318,000 to 485,000 dollars a year, plus shares in the firm, the ad says.

What is confirmed and what is not

Altman's words and the job page are on the record. OpenAI has not said how the robot will look or what it will cost.

Engadget wrote that on the 17th of October 2026. It counted 27 robot jobs then, and 15 were open on the 23rd, by our count.

Key facts

Altman on the Sources podcast in September 2026: OpenAI will build a robot like a person.

Altman to Fortune on the 15th of September 2026: a demo in 2027.

An OpenAI job ad of the 21st of October 2026 names the robots.

15 robot jobs open on the 23rd of October 2026, by our count.

No look, price or sale date yet.