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Apptronik Secures $350 Million in Series A Funding with Backing from Google

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US-based humanoid robotics company Apptronik has raised $350 million in Series A funding to expand the production of its humanoid robot, Apollo, and meet growing customer demand. 

As per the company’s blog, the funding round was co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory and saw participation from Google as well. This comes to light after the company’s latest partnership with Google DeepMind’s robotics team to create truly intelligent and autonomous robots.

The company took to X to announce: “This will fuel the deployment of Apollo, allow us to scale our operations, and get us one step closer to meeting the global demand for humanoid robots.”

The investment will accelerate Apptronik’s development of next-generation humanoid robots and enhance Apollo’s capabilities for industries such as logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare. “We’re creating the world’s most advanced and capable humanoid robots, designed to work alongside humans in meaningful ways,” said Jeff Cardenas, CEO and co-founder of Apptronik.  

Capital Factory chairman Gordon Daugherty, who is also Apptronik’s first outside board director, further added, “Apollo’s friendly and approachable design reflects the company’s vision for humanoid robots that benefit businesses and individuals alike.”

The latest funding will also allow Apptronik to explore new robot models. The company has grown significantly in recent years. In 2022, it partnered with NASA to advance humanoid robotics and collaborated with NVIDIA to develop dexterous manipulation technology. NVIDIA also seemed to have changed its course slightly toward robotics

Apptronik’s commercial agreements with Mercedes-Benz and GXO Logistics further demonstrate market interest.  

Founded in 2016 at the University of Texas at Austin, Apptronik has developed 15 robotic systems, including NASA’s Valkyrie. Apollo, designed for industrial work, is set for expanded deployment in 2025.  

With only $28 million raised before this round, Apptronik has demonstrated capital efficiency. The latest funding positions it as a leader in AI-powered humanoid robotics. “Humanoid robots will play a key role in addressing challenges from disaster relief to space exploration,” added Howard Morgan, chair and general partner of B Capital.

On a similar note, Elon Musk said, “Once you have humanoid robots and deep intelligence, you essentially have access to quasi-infinite products and services.”

He added that Tesla’s advancements in humanoid robotics, combined with AI at the data centre level, could enable these machines to operate autonomously, learning and adapting to tasks across industries at an unprecedented scale.

Adding on to this, Brett Adcock, founder of Figure robots, also recently said in a post on X, “In our lifetime, you will see more humanoid robots than humans when you’re out and about.” He was referring to Figure’s new Robot/AI Campus, which is nearing completion, with the team set to move in within weeks. 

The new facility will significantly expand manufacturing, robot testing, fleet operations, and engineering capabilities. 

Adcock emphasised that this growth reflects the company’s mission to scale humanoid robotics and bring millions of robots into real-world deployment. The company also encouraged those seeking challenging but impactful work to join its efforts in shaping the future of robotics.

In an interview with AIM, Satish Shukla, co-founder of Addverb, recently discussed the company’s plans to launch its humanoid this year and his views on the future of humanoids.

Shukla believed it would take another three to four years for humanoids to become as prevalent as humans. “For every human, we probably might have one humanoid,” he added.

The post Apptronik Secures $350 Million in Series A Funding with Backing from Google appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.


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