Apptronik Raises $520 Million at $5.5 Billion Valuation

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Investors are starting to price in what could be a defining capital cycle in humanoid robotics. Apptronik has secured roughly $520 million in a new funding extension that values the company at more than $5.5 billion, approximately three times its valuation from its initial Series A last year. The round was led by existing backers including Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Mercedes-Benz Group AG (MBGAF)jo and B Capital, with new capital from AT&T Ventures, John Deere & Co. and the Qatar Investment Authority. The raise extends a $415 million financing completed in February 2025, and management indicated that strong inbound investor interest following that round led it to reopen the deal at a materially higher valuation. The backdrop is notable: investors have been committing billions into humanoid robotics startups such as Figure AI and Dexterity, reflecting expectations that advances in AI could accelerate commercial adoption.

Management is deploying the new capital toward bringing its flagship humanoid robot, Apollo, to market, expanding pilot programs and supporting initial scaling and production. Apollo represents the latest in a series of 10 humanoid systems developed over the past decade and is positioned as a general-purpose platform capable of operating on legs or wheels, in stationary configurations or mounted setups. The company argues that legged mobility is critical for whole-body control and for operating effectively in environments built for humans. Co-founder and CEO Jeff Cardenas has framed Apollo as the company’s moonshot and central hero, while also signaling that additional robotic characters could be introduced over time. The Austin-based company employs about 300 people and traces its origins to the University of Texas’ Human Centered Robotics Lab, where its founders previously worked on NASA’s Valkyrie humanoid robotics project.

Strategically, Apptronik is prioritizing manufacturing and logistics, focusing on repeatable tasks such as material handling and sorting, and is running pilot programs with partners including Mercedes-Benz and GXO Logistics. It also maintains a strategic tie-up with Google DeepMind to develop humanoid robots powered by Gemini Robotics, a series of AI models from Google optimized for robots. Over time, the company plans to expand into broader commercial markets such as healthcare, retail and hospitality before ultimately targeting consumer deployment in the home, including personal care and assistive use cases like elder care, cleaning and cooking. Cardenas acknowledged that the home market could be the most challenging and suggested it may take longer until the robots are sufficiently capable, potentially within the next decade. He characterized the current phase of humanoid development as early, likening it to the early personal computer era, where initial signs of commercial viability are emerging but the broader cycle may still be ahead.