Apptronik brings in another $520M to ramp up Apollo production
Apptronik said its Apollo humanoid is the culmination of nearly a decade of development. | Source: Apptronik
Apptronik Inc. today said it has raised a $520 million Series A-X funding round. This brings the Austin, Texas-based humanoid robot developer’s total Series A to more than $935 million and its total capital raised to nearly $1 billion.
After its initial Series A announcement, totaling $415 million, inbound investors continued to show interest, said Apptronik. In response, the company extended the round, which is now closing at three times the amount of its original valuation.
“Today’s investment is a strong vote of confidence in our mission to deliver humanoid robots that are designed to work alongside humans, not just as tools but as trusted collaborators,” stated Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO of Apptronik..
“With the backing of our longstanding investors and strategic partners, we’re poised to unveil the newest version of Apollo and maximize the impact of embodied AI across industries,” he added. “Together, we’re transforming workflows, reimagining factory floors, and writing a new chapter for next-generation humanoid robots that are designed and built to drive meaningful societal progress.”
Apptronik said Apollo is based on nearly a decade of development on 15 previous robots, including NASA’s Valkyrie. The company started out of the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin and has nearly 300 employees.
Apptronik plans to invest in Apollo applications
Apptronik said it has designed its Apollo humanoid robots to collaborate with people, initially in industries such as manufacturing and logistics, with potential applications in healthcare and the home. Apollo is intended to take on physically demanding work such as transporting components, sorting, and kitting.
Apptronik has inked partnerships with Mercedes-Benz, GXO Logistics, and Jabil. The company also has a strategic partnership with Google DeepMind to build the next generation of humanoid robots, powered by Gemini Robotics.
With its latest capital, Apptronik said it will ramp up production of Apollo and expand its global network of commercial and pilot deployments. The company also claimed that the funding will accelerate its time to market and enable it to invest in projects to solve the use cases of its large number of retail, manufacturing, and logistics customers.
In addition, Apptronik said it plans to build state-of-the-art facilities for robot training and data collection. The company said it expects finish developing its latest robot model, which is set to debut in this year.
The round included participation from existing investors, including B Capital, Google, Mercedes-Benz, and PEAK6, and new investors, including AT&T Ventures, John Deere, and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
“Apptronik is setting the standard in embodied AI at scale,” said Howard Morgan, chair and general partner of B Capital. “At this pivotal moment, we’re proud to deepen our support as the team accelerates production and real-world deployment of AI-powered collaborators designed to work alongside people and reshape manufacturing, logistics, and other mission-critical industries.”
Humanoid funding is booming
From left to right: Unitree’s humanoid, Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, Figure AI’s 02, Apptronik’s Apollo, and Tesla’s Optimus robot. | Source: Unitree, Boston Dynamics, Figure, Apptronik, and Tesla
Apptronik is far from the only humanoid company raising large funding rounds. Last year, Agility Robotics brought in $400 million, Figure AI raised $1 billion in its Series C round, Leju Robotics raised $200 million, and Neura Robotics raised $123 million. Already this year, LimX Dynamics has raised $200 million.
While investor interest is high for humanoids, commercial deployments are still slow. Agility Robotics leads the way in rollouts. Last year, it deployed its Digit humanoid with Mercado Libre, a leading commerce and fintech ecosystem in Latin America, in a facility in San Antonio, Texas.
Digit was first deployed with GXO in June 2024. This is widely considered to be the first deployment of a humanoid at a commercial customer site. Figure has also deployed its robots with a paying customer since December 2024.
In addition, Boston Dynamics, another long-time humanoid developer, is getting closer to deploying its Atlas humanoid in commercial settings. All of the company’s Atlas units are committed for 2026, shipping to Hyundai Motor Group’s Robotics Metaplant Application Center (RMAC) and Google DeepMind, with additional customers planned for 2027.
Hyundai, Boston Dynamics’ parent company, aims to manufacture up to 30,000 humanoids annually by 2028. It said Atlas will be performing high-precision sequencing at scale in 2028 and complex assembly tasks slated for 2030.
Editor’s note: The Robotics Summit & Expo will feature a keynote panel on humanoids, including Pras Velagapudi, chief technology officer at Agility Robotics; Alberto Rodriguez, director of Atlas humanoid behavior at Boston Dynamics; and Aaron Prather, director of robotics and autonomous systems programs at ASTM International.
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