Apptronik has announced a new extension of its funding round, led by familiar investors such as Google, Mercedes-Benz Group AG, and B Capital, along with new participants like AT&T Ventures, John Deere & Co., and the Qatar Investment Authority. This extension adds to the $415 million raised in February 2025, tripling the initial value due to strong investor interest. The surge in investment in humanoid robotics, with startups like Figure AI and Dexterity attracting billions, reflects confidence that advancements in artificial intelligence will accelerate the commercial adoption of these systems. Founded in 2016, Apptronik has established collaborations with companies like Mercedes-Benz, GXO Logistics, and Jabil, and maintains a strategic alliance with Google DeepMind to develop humanoid robots based on Gemini Robotics, Google's family of AI models optimized for robotics. The new funding will be used for the commercialization of Apollo, Apptronik's flagship humanoid robot, as well as for expanding pilot programs and increasing production, according to the company. Apollo is the tenth humanoid robot developed by Apptronik in the last decade. Designed as a versatile platform, it can operate on both legs and wheels, and adapt to stationary or mobile configurations, allowing it to overcome the limitations of single-purpose robots. The company emphasizes that bipedal mobility is key for comprehensive body control and adaptation to human environments. Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO, states that Apollo will evolve and that new models may be added in the future. “Apollo is our journey to the moon, the hero of our story,” he notes. Based in Austin and with around 300 employees, Apptronik has its roots in the Human-Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas, where Cardenas, advisor Dr. Luis Sentis, and CTO Dr. Nicholas Payne collaborated on NASA's Valkyrie project. Apptronik's expansion strategy includes three phases. Currently, the company focuses on sectors such as manufacturing and logistics, automating repetitive tasks like material handling and sorting, and executing pilots with partners like Mercedes-Benz and GXO. In the long term, it plans to enter sectors like healthcare, retail, and hospitality, before bringing its robots into the home environment, where they could handle assistance and personal care tasks, including support for the elderly, cleaning, and cooking. Cardenas acknowledges that the domestic market is the most challenging but also the one with the greatest potential. He expects robots to be home-ready in the next decade. “We are at the beginning of the humanoid development cycle,” he compares, placing the current moment in a phase similar to the early years of personal computing, when its commercial potential was just beginning to be glimpsed.