Apptronik raises $520 million to beat Chinese humanoids, Tesla Optimus to market

Tesla said it has to ramp up spending to start manufacturing its robots and self-driving cars. But in a recent earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said the Optimus humanoids remain in an early, research and development stage.

Cardenas said that within the field of automation, the allure of humanoids is their versatility, which allows "one robot to do thousands of tasks, versus a thousand robots doing a single task." From pilot deployments, Apptronik is able to observe its Apollo in action, gather data from its fleet and use that to refine its systems and the way they work.

The new funding comes after Apptronik locked in a partnership with Google DeepMind and began working with its Gemini Robotics AI models, which underpin Apollo's capabilities. Lora Kolodny@in/lorakolodny/

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Humanoid robotics startup Apptronik was valued at $5 billion in a funding round that included capital from Google. The company's Apollo humanoids are being tested in factories and warehouses with partners Mercedes-Benz and GXO Logistics. CEO Jeff Cardenas said Apptronik will use the funding to expand in Austin, Texas, open a new office in California and scale production of its robots.

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Apptronik co-founders (L-R): CTO Nicholas Paine and CEO Jeff Cardenas

Courtesy Apptronik

Apptronik has raised $520 million in funding at a $5 billion valuation as the startup aims to commercialize its humanoid Apollo robots, potentially beating Chinese competitors and Tesla's Optimus to the market. Apptronik will reveal more later this year about what its robots will and won't be able to do, Cardenas said.

Morgan was more forthcoming about his expectations for the company, and said demand for the Apollo is already apparent.He said he expects orders for $1 billion worth of robots starting in 2027, when he hopes the company will be delivering Apollo in high volumes for roughly $80,000 a year, about the price of a luxury car.

"Think about a factory worker doing three or four shifts, and on any weekend," Morgan said. "Eighty-thousand is cheap!"

Morgan also said he expects Apptronik to hire at least another 200 people in the next year, and that the company needed to lock in the new funds now given the excitement around humanoid robotics.