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Apollo is a general-purpose humanoid robot developed by Apptronik, a robotics company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Unveiled in August 2023, Apollo was designed from the ground up for safe human collaboration in industrial environments such as warehouses, manufacturing plants, and logistics facilities. The robot stands 173 cm tall, weighs 73 kg, and can carry loads of up to 25 kg. Its hot-swappable battery system enables near-continuous operation across shifts, making it one of the first humanoid robots explicitly engineered for commercial-scale deployment.
Apptronik spun out of the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin in 2016, bringing with it over a decade of research in humanoid locomotion, force-controlled actuation, and human-robot interaction. The company's work on NASA's Valkyrie robot provided foundational technology and experience that directly shaped Apollo's design. Since its unveiling, Apollo has secured pilot deployments with Mercedes-Benz, GXO Logistics, and Jabil, and the company has raised over $935 million in Series A funding at a valuation exceeding $5 billion.
Apptronik was founded in early 2016 by five individuals associated with the University of Texas at Austin: Jeff Cardenas, Nicholas Paine, Bill Helmsing, Bill Welch, and Luis Sentis, an associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics at UT Austin.[1] The company emerged directly from the Human Centered Robotics Lab (HCRL), which Sentis directed, and was formed with the goal of commercializing the lab's research into robotic actuators, exoskeletons, and humanoid systems.
The founding story traces back to Jeff Cardenas meeting retired Air Force General Bill Welch, who introduced Cardenas to Professor Luis Sentis and postdoctoral researcher Nicholas Paine at UT Austin.[2] Cardenas, who holds a Master of Science in Technology Commercialization and an undergraduate business degree from UT Austin, had previously worked at Deloitte Consulting's technology practice and at the IC2 Institute's Global Commercialization Group.[3] Paine, who became the company's CTO, brought deep expertise in actuator design and robotic control systems from his doctoral work in the HCRL.
In its earliest days, Apptronik operated out of a 300-square-foot office and lab space at UT Austin. Cardenas has recalled going to Harbor Freight to purchase the company's first tools when getting started.[2] Over the following years, the team built an impressive portfolio of robotic systems spanning exoskeletons, humanoid torsos, biped mobility platforms, and robotic arms, totaling more than 15 distinct robots before Apollo.[4]
Apptronik's relationship with NASA predates the company's formal founding. In 2011, Nicholas Paine, then a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas, joined a team of engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center to build Valkyrie (also designated R5), a 6-foot-2, 300-pound humanoid robot created for the DARPA Robotics Challenge.[5] Although Valkyrie did not win the DARPA competition, the robot was built with NASA's long-term exploration needs in mind and has continued to serve as a testbed platform for robotic capabilities research.
After Apptronik was founded in 2016, the company's first contract was a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from NASA to develop liquid-cooled robotic actuator technology.[5] Through SBIR funding and NASA's Game Changing Development Program, Apptronik maintained a close working relationship with the Dexterous Robotics Team at Johnson Space Center. A key meeting in 2021 brought Apptronik engineers to Johnson Space Center, where both teams discussed requirements for next-generation humanoid robots, infusing lessons learned from operating Valkyrie over the preceding decade.[6]
NASA's contributions to Apollo's design centered on three areas: modularity (the ability to reconfigure robots for different functions), tool utilization (enabling robots to adapt equipment based on task requirements), and safety features for human-robot collaboration.[6] As Shaun Azimi, NASA's dexterous robotics lead at Johnson Space Center, noted: "By applying NASA's expertise in human-safe mobile robots to commercial projects, together we are able to spur innovation in this important field."[6]
More recently, NASA has expanded its partnership with Apptronik to explore adapting Apollo for space exploration, potentially serving as an assistant to astronauts on space stations, the Moon, or Mars.[7]
Apptronik officially unveiled Apollo on August 23, 2023, describing it as "the world's most capable humanoid robot."[8] The announcement emphasized Apollo's unique combination of friendly, approachable design, mass manufacturability, performance, and safety. Apptronik partnered with argodesign, an Austin-based design studio, to create Apollo's appearance, focusing on "a form that balances complexity and approachability."[8] The robot features digital LED panels on its face and chest for communication, designed to convey a sense of approachability rather than intimidation.
Jeff Cardenas framed the robot's purpose in practical terms at the unveiling: "People don't want to do robotic, physically demanding work in tough conditions and they shouldn't have to. Humanoid robots are not just an answer to this challenge, they are a necessity."[8]
The company initially targeted case and tote handling solutions in logistics and manufacturing, with a broader long-term vision encompassing construction, oil and gas, electronics production, retail, home delivery, and elder care.[8]
Apollo's most distinctive engineering feature is its emphasis on force control rather than precise position control, a design philosophy that sets it apart from many traditional industrial robots.[9] Where conventional industrial robots follow rigid, pre-programmed paths with high positional accuracy, Apollo's actuators measure and respond to external forces in real time using torque sensors in each joint. This allows the robot to adapt to unexpected contact and variations in its environment, making it inherently safer for human collaboration and more robust in unstructured settings.
The robot employs proprietary linear electric actuators rather than conventional rotary joints, mimicking how human muscles work by producing force along a straight line.[10] These custom actuators, which Apptronik has refined over more than 13 generations of iterative development, use approximately one-third fewer components than traditional actuator designs while achieving roughly 50% higher speeds.[10] The linear architecture contributes to Apollo's relatively light weight of 73 kg for its size, and the reduced part count is a deliberate strategy to lower manufacturing costs and improve supply chain resilience.
Apptronik has worked with Texas Instruments on functional safety certification for Apollo's actuator electronics, with key components certified to TUV SUD standards.[11]
Apollo was designed with a modular philosophy that allows it to be deployed in multiple configurations depending on the application.[8] The humanoid upper body can be mounted on bipedal legs for full walking mobility, placed on a wheeled base for smooth indoor navigation, or fixed to a stationary pedestal for repetitive manipulation tasks. This flexibility allows customers to choose the most practical form factor for their specific use case without requiring a completely different robot.
The modular approach extends to Apollo's end effectors. The robot's hands are interchangeable, enabling different gripper configurations for different tasks. Hot-swappable battery packs, each providing approximately four hours of runtime, represent another facet of the modular design: instead of plugging the robot in for lengthy charging cycles, operators simply swap in a fresh battery pack in under five minutes, enabling up to 22 hours of daily operation.[12]
Apollo's onboard computing is powered by NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin and Jetson Orin NX modules, providing over 275 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI processing power.[13] This computing platform supports real-time perception, locomotion control, manipulation planning, and task scheduling.
The robot's software stack, which Apptronik has called its proprietary AI and control software, integrates perception, locomotion, manipulation, real-time task scheduling, and battery management into a unified system.[14] A point-and-click control interface allows operators without robotics expertise to select tasks from a library and assign them to individual robots or entire fleets. The system supports fleet management for coordinating multiple Apollo units operating within the same facility.
Digital twin integration with NVIDIA Omniverse allows operators to simulate and optimize workflows before physical deployment, while over-the-air software updates enable continuous improvement of skills and capabilities after installation.[14]
Apptronik has established strategic AI partnerships with two major technology companies to accelerate Apollo's capabilities:
NVIDIA Project GR00T: Announced in March 2024, this collaboration integrates NVIDIA's Project GR00T foundation models with Apollo's hardware platform.[13] GR00T enables Apollo to learn new tasks from human demonstrations, interpret text and video commands, and execute complex tasks with increasing autonomy. In demonstrations, Apollo used GR00T to learn how to autonomously operate a juicer and serve juice to visitors.
Google DeepMind Gemini Robotics: Apptronik partnered with Google DeepMind's robotics team to integrate Gemini Robotics models (including Gemini Robotics 1.5 and Gemini Robotics-ER 1.5) with Apollo.[15] This partnership focuses on enabling Apollo to handle dynamic, unstructured environments using Gemini's spatial reasoning capabilities. Demonstrations have showcased Apollo using Gemini to master complex manipulation tasks such as playing Jenga, illustrating the system's ability to reason about physical interactions.
Apollo incorporates multiple layers of safety systems designed for operation alongside human workers:[14]
| Safety feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Force limiting | Actuators automatically limit forces during contact, reducing the severity of any collision |
| Collision avoidance | Real-time path replanning to avoid detected obstacles |
| Perimeter zone | Configurable outer detection zone where Apollo adjusts speed and behavior when objects are detected |
| Impact zone | Immediate halt of all movement when a moving object enters a close-proximity radius |
| Emergency shutdown | Physically accessible button for immediate power-off |
| Compliant joints | Inherent mechanical compliance reduces impact forces during unexpected contact |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Height | 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 73 kg (160 lb) |
| Payload capacity | 25 kg (55 lb) |
| Degrees of freedom | 44+ |
| DOF per arm | 7 |
| Walking speed | ~1.2 m/s (3.4 km/h) |
| Battery life | 4 hours per pack |
| Battery type | Hot-swappable lithium-ion |
| Battery swap time | Under 5 minutes |
| Daily operating time | Up to 22 hours |
| Actuator type | Proprietary linear electric actuators |
| Compute platform | NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin + Jetson Orin NX |
| AI performance | 275+ TOPS |
| Sensors | RGB cameras, depth cameras, force/torque sensors, IMU |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Ethernet, 5G |
| ROS compatible | Yes |
| Stair climbing | Yes |
| Configurations | Bipedal, wheeled base, stationary pedestal |
Note: Apptronik has not published a complete, official specification sheet, and some reported figures (particularly degrees of freedom and walking speed) vary across sources. The specifications above reflect the most commonly cited and reliable figures.
In March 2024, Apptronik and Mercedes-Benz announced a commercial agreement representing both Apollo's first publicly announced industrial deployment and Mercedes-Benz's first application of humanoid robotics in its production facilities.[16] Mercedes-Benz invested a "low double-digit million-euro" sum into Apptronik as part of the agreement.
Apollo robots are being tested at two Mercedes-Benz facilities: the Digital Factory Campus in Berlin-Marienfelde, Germany, and the manufacturing plant in Kecskemet, Hungary.[17] The initial deployment focuses on intralogistics tasks, including:
Data collection for training Apollo's AI models in these environments combines human teleoperation and augmented reality with autonomous operations. According to reports, the deployment has contributed to a 40% improvement in logistics efficiency at the pilot sites.[17] Jorg Burzer, a Mercedes-Benz board member, stated: "Our work with Apptronik has given us a front-row seat to progress in humanoid robotics and AI."[18]
In June 2024, GXO Logistics, the world's largest pure-play contract logistics provider, announced a multi-phase R&D initiative with Apptronik to explore practical applications of humanoid robots in distribution centers.[19] The program began with laboratory testing to fine-tune Apollo's AI models before progressing to real-world trials at a GXO distribution center in the United States.
Notably, this was GXO's second humanoid robot partnership, following its earlier work with Agility Robotics' Digit robot, suggesting that major logistics companies see genuine operational value in the humanoid form factor for warehouse applications.[19]
In February 2025, Apptronik announced a partnership with Jabil, the global electronics manufacturing services company, covering both the production and deployment of Apollo robots.[20] Under this arrangement, Jabil serves as Apptronik's worldwide manufacturing partner, providing supply chain expertise and production flexibility to scale Apollo manufacturing globally.
The partnership has a notable recursive element: newly manufactured Apollo robots are tested within Jabil's own factory environments, performing tasks such as inspection, sorting, kitting, lineside delivery, fixture placement, and sub-assembly before being shipped to Apptronik's other customers.[20] This arrangement allows Apollo robots to help build other Apollo robots, accelerating quality validation while simultaneously demonstrating real-world capability.
With Jabil's manufacturing capabilities, Apptronik aims to reduce Apollo's bill of materials cost and achieve mass production volumes, with the long-term goal of making general-purpose humanoids affordable enough to expand into retail, elder care, and eventually home use.[20]
Apptronik operated with notable capital efficiency in its early years, raising only $28 million in total funding before its Series A round while building 15 robotic systems and securing major partnerships.[4]
On February 13, 2025, Apptronik announced a $350 million Series A funding round co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory, with participation from Google.[4] The investment was intended to accelerate development of next-generation humanoid robots, expand Apollo's capabilities across logistics, manufacturing, eldercare, and healthcare, and scale manufacturing to fulfill customer orders across automotive, electronics, third-party logistics, beverage bottling, and consumer packaged goods sectors.
At the time of the announcement, Apptronik had over 150 employees. Howard Morgan, chair of B Capital, stated: "We back the most innovative founders, and there's no exception here."[4]
Just one month later, on March 18, 2025, Apptronik announced the close of an oversubscribed Series A totaling $403 million, having added $53 million beyond the initial $350 million.[18] New investors joining the round included Mercedes-Benz, Japan Post Capital, ARK Invest, RyderVentures (the venture arm of Ryder System), Helium-3, Magnetar, and a syndicate led by Korea Investment Partners.
The involvement of Japan Post Capital signaled potential expansion into the Japanese market. Yuta Ogura of Japan Post Capital noted: "Their go-to-market strategy positions Apptronik uniquely for the Japanese market."[18]
In February 2026, Apptronik raised an additional $520 million in a Series A extension, bringing the total Series A round to over $935 million and valuing the company at more than $5 billion.[21] The extension round included existing investors B Capital, Google, Mercedes-Benz, and PEAK6, alongside new investors AT&T Ventures, John Deere, and QIA (Qatar Investment Authority).
The valuation represented a roughly threefold increase from the initial Series A. The investment was earmarked for accelerating time to market, building state-of-the-art facilities for robot training and data collection, and funding continued innovation in human-centered robot design, including a highly anticipated new robot set to debut in 2026.[21]
With this raise, Apptronik has secured nearly $1 billion in total funding since its 2016 founding.
| Funding round | Date | Amount | Key investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Series A | 2016 to 2024 | $28 million | Various |
| Series A (initial) | February 2025 | $350 million | B Capital, Capital Factory, Google |
| Series A (close) | March 2025 | $53 million (total: $403M) | Mercedes-Benz, Japan Post Capital, ARK Invest, Korea Investment Partners, others |
| Series A (extension) | February 2026 | $520 million (total: $935M) | AT&T Ventures, John Deere, QIA, B Capital, Google, Mercedes-Benz, PEAK6 |
| Name | Role | Background |
|---|---|---|
| Jeff Cardenas | Co-founder and CEO | MS in Technology Commercialization (UT Austin); formerly Deloitte Consulting, IC2 Institute |
| Nicholas Paine | Co-founder and CTO | Ph.D. researcher at UT Austin HCRL; worked on NASA Valkyrie |
| Luis Sentis | Co-founder | Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering, UT Austin; director of HCRL; NASA JSC contractor |
| Bill Welch | Co-founder | Retired U.S. Air Force General; mentor to Cardenas |
| Bill Helmsing | Co-founder | UT Austin alumnus |
Apollo competes in an increasingly crowded humanoid robotics market. Several companies are pursuing similar visions of general-purpose humanoid robots for industrial applications.
| Feature | Apollo (Apptronik) | Figure 02 | Optimus (Tesla) | Digit (Agility Robotics) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 173 cm | 170 cm | 173 cm | 175 cm |
| Weight | 73 kg | 70 kg | ~73 kg | 65 kg |
| Payload | 25 kg | 25 kg | ~20 kg | 16 kg |
| Battery life | 4 hrs (swappable) | ~5 hrs | Not disclosed | 2 to 4 hrs |
| Walking speed | ~3.4 km/h | ~4.3 km/h | ~5 km/h | ~5.4 km/h |
| Actuation | Linear electric (proprietary) | Electric | Electric | Electric |
| Key differentiator | Hot-swappable battery, force control | AI-first, OpenAI partnership | In-house vertical integration | Purpose-built for logistics |
| Major partner | Mercedes-Benz | BMW | Tesla factories | Amazon |
| Total funding | ~$935 million | ~$750 million | Internal (Tesla) | ~$179 million |
Apollo's primary competitive advantages include its hot-swappable battery system (enabling near-continuous operation without downtime for charging), its force-controlled actuation architecture (derived from a decade of NASA-backed research), and its modular design (allowing deployment as a full biped, a wheeled torso, or a stationary unit). Its walking speed, at approximately 3.4 km/h, is slower than several competitors, though Apptronik has indicated that upcoming hardware revisions will address this gap.
Compared to Boston Dynamics' Atlas (now retired in its hydraulic form and replaced by an electric version), Apollo represents a fundamentally different design philosophy: prioritizing safety, approachability, and manufacturability over raw athletic performance.
Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas confirmed plans to showcase a new version of Apollo in 2026, describing the upcoming release as a "refinement" that will be followed by a "significant jump up" in both hardware and software integration.[22] The company is developing multiple next versions of the robot in parallel, with the overarching goal of moving beyond robots that can execute a task once for a camera demonstration to machines that can operate "repeatedly, at scale, and with minimal downtime."[22]
The company's development roadmap focuses on several key areas:
With nearly $1 billion in funding, partnerships with major industrial companies, and strategic AI collaborations with Google and NVIDIA, Apptronik is positioned as one of the leading contenders in the race to commercialize general-purpose humanoid robots.