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Draft:Apptronik

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apptronik, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryRobotics
Founded2016; 10 years ago (2016) in Austin, Texas, U.S.
FoundersJeff Cardenas, Nick Paine, Luis Sentis
Headquarters
Austin, Texas
,
U.S.
Key people
Jeff Cardenas (CEO)
Nick Paine (CTO)
ProductsApollo (humanoid robot)
Number of employees
c. 300 (2026)

Apptronik is an American robotics company in Austin, Texas, that develops general-purpose humanoid robots designed to work alongside humans. The company was founded in 2016 as an offshoot of the University of Texas at Austin Human Centered Robotics Lab. It is best known for Apollo, a general-purpose humanoid robot with initial deployment in industrial settings and was developed in part through a collaboration with NASA.[1][2] Apptronik is one of several companies developing humanoid robots for industrial settings, alongside competitors such as Tesla, Figure AI, and Agility Robotics.[3][4]

As of early 2026, total funding was over $935 million and the company was valued at about $5 billion.[5][6] Investors include Google and Mercedes-Benz, which also work with the company commercially, as well as John Deere and the Qatar Investment Authority.[6]

History

[edit]

Apptronik evolved from work done by the University of Texas at Austin lab, which collaborated on NASA's Valkyrie entry to the 2013 DARPA Robotics Challenge.[5] The company was founded in 2016, with Jeff Cardenas as CEO and Nick Paine as CTO, both of whom had worked at the lab.[7]

The company's early work included about 15 robotic systems.[6] These ranged from powered exoskeletons developed for U.S. special operations forces to robotic arms and bipedal platforms. According to Dallas Innovates, the company averaged roughly one new humanoid robot per year and completed more than 10 iterations.[8] One of these was DRACO 3, a humanoid Apptronik built for the university's Human Centered Robotics Laboratory; it was a teen-sized bipedal humanoid (about 1.35 m, 39 kg) with cable-driven, proximally actuated legs and rolling contact joints.[9]

In September 2022, Apptronik announced a partnership with NASA to commercialize Apollo, which was already in development and whose architecture derived from Valkyrie.[1][10] As part of a Small Business Innovation Research program, the collaboration drew on NASA expertise in modular design and in safe operation around people. NASA has said it is interested in adapting such humanoid robots for use on the Moon and Mars.[2] Apollo was unveiled on August 23, 2023.[11][12]

Apollo

[edit]

The Apollo robot stands about 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) tall and weighs approximately 160 lb (73 kg), and can lift up to 55 lb (25 kg).[12][13] Its design is all-electric, using electric actuators as joints rather than hydraulics, which Apptronik says improves precision and safety. The same upper body can be deployed as a bipedal walking humanoid, as a torso mounted on a wheeled base, or fixed at a workstation.[11] For its hands, Apptronik has used third-party robotic hands, including the Ability Hand from the prosthetics company Psyonic, rather than developing its own.[14][15] According to a 2025 report by the patent-analytics firm PatentVest, Apptronik held 17 patent families, concentrated in actuation and joint design rather than software.[16]

Apollo is used for repetitive, physically demanding tasks such as moving materials, case picking, palletizing, trailer unloading, and machine tending. As of 2026 it was operated within sensor-bounded zones.[17]

A revised model, Apollo 2, was tested from early 2025 and used in pilot programs and in the Google DeepMind collaboration.[18] It was unveiled in June 2026 and described by the company as a prototype and data-collection platform rather than a production system.[19]

In 2026 Apptronik opened Robot Park, a roughly 90,000 sq ft (8,400 m2) testing and data-collection facility near its Austin headquarters. The data collected there are used in the company's collaboration with Google DeepMind.[19]

As of 2026, Apollo was deployed through pilot and research programs rather than sold as a commercial product, and independent reporting found the robots operating within sensor-fenced zones rather than working freely alongside people.[17][19]

Partnerships

[edit]

Apptronik maintains a strategic partnership with Google DeepMind, announced in December 2024, to develop humanoid robots using Google's Gemini AI models.[17][12] It has also worked with Nvidia on robot learning and Texas Instruments on motor control and functional safety.[12] In 2025 it began a manufacturing collaboration with Jabil, and it has commercial or pilot agreements to deploy Apollo with Mercedes-Benz, GXO Logistics, and Jabil.[6]

Funding

[edit]

Apptronik was self-financed for its first five years, generating more revenue than it raised, and had raised about $65 million by early 2025.[4] This included a $14.6 million seed round in June 2022.[20] In February 2025 the company announced a $350 million Series A co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory, with Google participating; the round was later expanded to $415 million.[21][22][8] A $520 million extension in February 2026 brought the Series A past $935 million and total funding to nearly $1 billion at a valuation of about $5 billion.[5][17] Investors include B Capital, Google, Mercedes-Benz, and PEAK6, joined in the 2026 round by John Deere, the Qatar Investment Authority, and AT&T Ventures; the company said it would use the capital to scale Apollo production, expand deployments, and build facilities for robot training and data collection.[6][8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Cobler, Nicole (2022-09-21). "Austin-based Apptronik partners with NASA". Axios Austin. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  2. ^ a b Wickes, Rebecca (2023-08-23). "NASA Experience Enables Advance of Small Business's Humanoid Robot". NASA. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  3. ^ Metz, Cade (2025-04-04). "Invasion of the Home Humanoid Robots". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
  4. ^ a b Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Mattu, Ravi; Warner, Bernhard; Kessler, Sarah; de la Merced, Michael J.; Hirsch, Lauren; Lee, Edmund (2025-02-13). "Inflation Is Trump's Problem Now". DealBook. The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
  5. ^ a b c Bort, Julie (2026-02-11). "Humanoid robot startup Apptronik has now raised $935M at a $5B+ valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  6. ^ a b c d e Crowe, Steve (2026-02-11). "Apptronik brings in another $520M to ramp up Apollo production". The Robot Report. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  7. ^ Tantawi, Sarah (2024). "AI in Action". McCombs Magazine. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  8. ^ a b c Preston, Quincy (2026-02-11). "AT&T Ventures Among New Backers as Humanoid Robotics Startup Apptronik Nears $1B in Total Funding". Dallas Innovates. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  9. ^ Bang, Seung Hyeon; Gonzalez, Carlos; Ahn, Junhyeok; Paine, Nicholas; Sentis, Luis (2023-10-16). "Control and evaluation of a humanoid robot with rolling contact joints on its lower body". Frontiers in Robotics and AI. 10 1164660. doi:10.3389/frobt.2023.1164660. PMC 10613887. PMID 37908754.
  10. ^ Tripathi, Aman (2026-02-01). "Apollo humanoid robots prepare to transition from factory work to space". Interesting Engineering. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  11. ^ a b "Meet Apollo, the 'iPhone' of humanoid robots". CNN. 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2026-07-02.
  12. ^ a b c d Novack, Sophie (2025-06-10). "Apptronik: 2025 CNBC Disruptor 50". CNBC. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  13. ^ "Google, Mercedes-Benz back Apollo robot in race against Tesla Optimus". Interesting Engineering. 2026-02-12. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  14. ^ Oitzman, Mike (2023-08-23). "Apptronik unveils Apollo humanoid robot". The Robot Report. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
  15. ^ Liao, Chloe (2026-02-13). "Psyonic's plug-and-play robotic hand enters Apptronik's humanoid ecosystem". DIGITIMES. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
  16. ^ Teske, Tyler; Rosellini, Will; Forgas, Marcelo (2025-05-10). Humanoid Robots: The Disconnect Between IP Strength and VC Funding of US and European Humanoid Robot Startups (Report). PatentVest. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
  17. ^ a b c d Field, Hayden (2026-02-11). "Apptronik raises $520 million at $5 billion valuation for Apollo robot". CNBC. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  18. ^ Heater, Brian (2026-02-19). "This Year's Model: Apptronik's Next Apollo is (Nearly) Ready for Its Closeup". Automate. Association for Advancing Automation. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  19. ^ a b c Heater, Brian (2026-06-30). "Apptronik Opens 90,000 sq ft Testing Site for New Apollo 2 Humanoid". Automate. Association for Advancing Automation. Retrieved 2026-07-18.
  20. ^ "Austin robotics company raises $14.6M". Axios Austin. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2026-06-24.
  21. ^ "Apptronik Raises $350 Million to Scale Humanoid Robot Production". Industrial Equipment News. 2025-02-13. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  22. ^ "Apptronik Raises $350 Million to Scale Production of AI-Powered Humanoid Robots and Meet Significant Customer Demand" (Press release). GlobeNewswire. 2025-02-13. Retrieved 2026-06-23.


Category:Robotics companies of the United States Category:Manufacturing companies based in Austin, Texas Category:American companies established in 2016 Category:Manufacturing companies established in 2016 Category:Humanoid robots

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