Apptronik’s new CPO hire a major step in right direction - The Robot Report
The Robot Report # Apptronik’s new CPO hire a major step in right direction By Mike Oitzman | Appronik is preparing for a major growth phase as it begins manufacturing and selling its Apollo humanoid robot.
Key takeaways
As of early May 2026, 1X’s NEO humanoid robot has entered full‑scale production at its 58,000‑sq‑ft factory in Hayward, California, and the company says the vertically integrated line will enable it to scale to 100,000 units per year by the end of 2027, with pre‑orders already available at about $20,000 each. At the same time, Meta announced the acquisition of the robotics startup Assured Robot Intelligence, bringing its founders Xiaolong Wang and Lerrel Pinto into the firm to accelerate Meta’s humanoid‑AI research and potential consumer‑grade robots. In the industrial arena, Schaeffler and Hexagon Robotics are moving from pilot to deployment, planning to field 1,000 AEON humanoid units across multiple factories beginning in late 2026, while Apptronik has hired former Waymo executive Daniel Chu as chief product officer to steer the commercial launch of its Apollo humanoid platform after securing a $935 million Series A round. A Roland Berger report projects the global humanoid‑robot market could generate $300‑$750 billion in revenue by 2035, and Chinese firm Honor’s running robot is closing in on human sprint speeds, underscoring rapid performance advances across the sector.
The Robot Report
Apptronik’s new CPO hire a major step in right direction
By Mike Oitzman |
Appronik is preparing for a major growth phase as it begins manufacturing and selling its Apollo humanoid robot. | Credit: Apptronik
Apptronik has signaled its transition from experimental robotics to commercial powerhouse by tapping Daniel Chu, the visionary behind Waymo’s autonomous ride-hailing launch, as its new chief product officer. By securing a leader who successfully navigated the leap from lab-bound AI to real-world infrastructure, Apptronik is positioning its humanoid robots as the next great frontier in scalable, mass-market technology.
Daniel Chu will lead Apptronik’s product roadmap. | Credit: Apptronik The addition of Chu—and veterans from Amazon, Boston Dynamics, and Paramount+—marks a pivotal shift for the Austin-based startup from ambitious R&D to aggressive market entry. Backed by a fresh $935 million Series A and the impending reveal of its flagship humanoid, Apptronik is no longer just building robots; it is building the commercial infrastructure to integrate general-purpose automation into everything from industrial warehouses to the future of eldercare.
Chu’s career has prepared him to lead Apptronik’s long-term product trajectory as the company prepares to bring general-purpose robots first into commercial applications, and eventually into healthcare and the home. “We are at a defining moment in robotics where the technology has finally met the magnitude of the mission,” stated Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO of Apptronik. “Bringing Daniel Chu on board is an essential step in that journey. His unique experience scaling both world-class autonomy and human-centric health platforms is exactly what we need to build the next generations of AI-powered robots and work towards our ‘North Star’ of assistive care and eldercare.”
“Our expanded leadership team represents the best minds from the companies that defined the last decade of technology, and they’ve joined Apptronik to define the next one,” Cardenas added. “We have the talent, the technology, and the momentum to bring AI-powered humanoid robots to the world at scale.”
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