California moves to stop Rek’s human-versus-robot match

The California State Athletic Commission sent a cease-and-desist letter to Rek, a startup that hosted a boxing match between a human and a humanoid robot last month, according to The New York Times.

The match took place on September 18 and pitted Frankie LaPenna against a robot owned by Rek. A human piloted the robot using what the Times described as a “remote virtual-reality system.” The robot appears to be an EngineAI model with a different head attached.

Rek CEO Cix Liv posted the letter to X on September 30. The commission called the match “unsanctioned” and demanded that Liv and Rek stop holding, promoting or advertising boxing or mixed martial arts contests or exhibitions involving any human in California without its approval. Liv responded: “We made it boys.”

Rek describes itself on its website as “the humanoid robot fighting league.” Its next planned match, scheduled for Friday, is set to feature two robots fighting each other with weapons.