Is the CEO of the heavily funded humanoid robot startup Figure AI exaggerating his startup’s work with BMW?

When Figure AI, a high-profile humanoid robot startup, announced a commercial agreement with automaker BMW early last year, it was a signal to venture investors and the rest of the robotics industry that the young company was one of the innovators to watch – and to beat – in this cutting edge sector.

Recent comments by Figure founder and CEO Brett Adcock, along with videos produced by the company, gave the impression that a new era of robo-manufacturing was firmly at hand. But a closer...