20 years of building companies

Brett is currently the founder of Figure, an AI robotics company building a general-purpose humanoid robot. Prior to Figure, Brett founded Archer Aviation, an urban air mobility company that IPO’d at $2.7B and Vettery, a machine learning-based talent marketplace that was acquired for $110M.

My beginnings

I was born and raised in central Illinois on a third-generation agricultural farm. Growing up on a farm showed me year after year, it was possible to create something of value for the world from nothing.

It’s our moral imperative to use tech as a long-term force for good.

I’m twenty years into building companies. I spent the first fifteen building in the software/internet space and the last five in advanced hardware. I’m maximizing my time every day to try to build an exciting and inspiring future.

2012 — 2018

Vettery

Founder • $110M EXIT

There are millions of people who are not happy with their jobs. I believe that one of the ways to improve global welfare is with a more efficient company-to-candidate matching ecosystem, so the right people are able to find the right jobs for them. When I was 26, I founded Vettery, a machine learning-based talent marketplace. Our team quickly grew to hundreds of employees, our network expanded to include 30,000 hiring companies, and our learning algorithms evolved to be able to match 20,000 interviews per month, helping thousands find their dream jobs.

In February 2018, Vettery was acquired for $110 million by The Adecco Group, the largest recruiting company in the world. In 2020, Vettery acquired Hired.com and changed its name to Hired.

2018 — Present

Archer

Founder • $2.7B IPO

With half the world living in urban areas, two important challenges of the 21st century are transitioning to a sustainable form of transportation and solving traffic problems. In 2018, I founded Archer, which is developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that will be used for urban air mobility.

I built Archer into a globally leading electric aerospace company, raising over $1 billion of capital, and taking it public on the NYSE at a valuation of $2.7 billion. I additionally architected, engineered, and flight-tested electric vertical takeoff & landing aircraft, signed a $1.5 billion commercial agreement with United Airlines, and vertically integrated aircraft design, flight software, actuation, electric motors, and battery systems. 

In this century, all forms of transportation will move to electric.

Figure

2022 — Present

Founder

I am currently in the early phases of building my next company, Figure. Figure is an AI robotics company looking to tackle the labor crisis occurring in essential industries like manufacturing, warehousing, shipping & logistics, and retail. We are developing a humanoid robot that will be able to work alongside humans, filling undesirable, dangerous, and monotonous roles.

I believe Figure has the potential to be one of the biggest, most impactful companies on the planet.

Let’s build a bolder future.

I write daily on Twitter about our progress at Figure, my journey as a serial entrepreneur, and my thoughts on the changing AI and tech landscape.