Apptronik, which makes humanoid robots, raises $350M as category heats up

Apptronik, a spin-out from the University of Texas that quietly built humanoid robots before it became so fashionable, announced a series A-series of $ 350 million on Thursday. B Capital and Capital Factory went together with De Ronde, which was also participation of Google, whose DeepMind Division works together With Apptronik to deliver AI for two -round robots.

“What 2025 is about for Apptronik and the humanoid industry, it shows really useful work in these applications with these first early adopters and customers,” tells WAN CEO Jeff Cardenas. “And then true commercialization and scales take place in 2026 and then. That is what this raise was designed for. “

The startup based in Austin had raised a relatively modest $ 28 million prior to this round. Cardenas says that the previous goal was to generate more income than the collected money and goal he says that the eight-year startup has reached at the time. That income came through pilot deals – including with Mercedes and GXO logistics – and by selling robots downright. For now, the aim to generate more income than fundraising should go for a while.

Apptronik’s humanoid work dates back to 2013, three years prior to the founding. It was then that members of the University of Austin participated in the human centered robotics lab of Texas NASA-Darpa Robotics ChallengeAn attempt that focused on a humanoid robot called Valkyrie. Since then, the Space Agency has retained a partnership with Apptronik because the company has its own generation of humanoids ready, including the current humanoid, Apollo.

Cardenas points out that decade-plus of humanoid experience as a primary distinctive factor between Apptronik and competitors such as Figure, 1x and Tesla. Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics also have a long history, but Apptronik is an experienced veteran in the category compared to much of the competition.

Google DeepMind

That history can explain why the DeepMind AI team of Google worked with Apptronik to build robot behavior models. Their ‘strategic partnership’ is similar to nature with others in the industry. Last week Boston Dynamics announced a bond to the Robotics & AI Institute. That followed a similar deal between the spot maker and Toyota Research Institute that focused on improving how robots learn.

They are all indicators of a much larger trend, including the multiple deals of OpenAi in space. The chatgpt maker has invested in both 1x and figure. Last August, Figure announced that the OpenAI models would further use to develop natural speech conversations for its own 02 robot, although the outfit announced new plans last week; In the future it will move all its AI development in-house.

“We have discovered that in order to resolve embodiment AI in the real world, you have to integrate your robot ai vertically,” Figure CEO Brett Adcock told WAN last week. “We cannot outsource AI for the same reason that we cannot outsource our hardware.”

Apptronik can ultimately make the same choice, but for now a Google DeepMind partnership is much more logical for the startup than the extra financing needed to build tailor-made humanoid AI models in-house. “We believe that Google is now at the top of the game and build some of the best models in the world,” says Cardenas.

Put robots to work

Scales and production are the magical words for Aptronik’s A Round. Apptronik’s current workforce is just north of 170 people, and it is an increase of 50% in the coming year.

Nevertheless, Cardenas is pragmatic about timelines in a category that can be fast to promote too much and underdrever. Cardenas tells WAN that Apptronik should not go beyond the pilot phase with one of his partnerships. For all excitement about humanoids, it is still crucial for companies to follow a measured approach to the category, to tackle things like safety problems and reliability before the technology is scaled up in a meaningful way.

In the meantime, the company has a handful of current pilots, including Mercedes, which ensures a natural choice. Automotive production is the leading use case for these types of pilots, for which Tote Moving and other manual tasks require on the factory floor. Boston Dynamics has collaborated in the same way with his parent company, Hyundai; Figure has used robots with BMW; And Tesla’s Optimus will eventually get started with the company’s own EVs.

Bring it all home

Like many of its rivals, Apptronik is also looking for ways to make Apollo work outside of factories and warehouses. The day could arrive when these robots come home to help with groceries, cooking, folding laundry and other tasks that buyers might want to load to a vending machine. Cardenas is even more enthusiastic about Age Tech as an important road for advanced robotics. As the Population ages And more older adults prefer to live independently, humanoids can ultimately help.

‘The holy grail is for me [age-tech]”Says Cardenas.” As people, “he says he wonders,” where can we apply this technology that improves human condition? “

However, the holy grail will have to wait.

For the time being, Apptronik, like most humanoid manufacturers, is aimed at industry. Factories and warehouses are a good first step, because companies have the money and other resources that are needed for pilots. Scale production for these projects will continue to float the price, but as it looks now, the systems are far too expensive for the house – or even healthcare institutions – to be a practical route. Apollo’s target price is less than $ 50,000, says Cardenas. But Apptronik is not there yet.

“We are in the window where the economy is now logical,” says Cardenas. “And we know how we can achieve many more affordable systems.”