Apptronik

Company research

Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals

Updated Aug 5, 2026

Overview

Apptronik is an Austin-based human-centered robotics company spun out of the University of Texas at Austin’s Human Centered Robotics Lab. It develops AI-powered humanoid robots intended to work safely alongside people, initially in manufacturing, logistics, warehousing and retail, with longer-term applications in healthcare and the home.

Primary product

Apollo, a modular, AI-powered humanoid robot platform with bipedal and wheeled configurations, dexterous manipulation and applications including material handling, case picking, palletization, kitting, inspection, sorting and machine tending.

Founded

2016

Headquarters

Austin, Texas, United States

Team size

300–450 (public sources range from more than 350 to approximately 450 in 2026)

Work style

Hybrid

Industry

Robotics manufacturing

Sub-industry

AI-powered humanoid robotics and industrial automation

Offices

Austin, Texas, United States

Mountain View, California, United States (reported/currently listed hiring location; additional California expansion announced for 2026)

Business model

Sale of humanoid robots and robotic systems

Robot-as-a-Service / fleet deployment model (reported target model)

Paid customer pilots and commercial engagements

Industrial automation solutions for manufacturing, logistics, 3PL and retail

Strategic technology partnerships and government/research contracts

Funding

Stage

Late-stage private, post-Series A / Series A extension

Total raised

$1B

Latest round

Series A-X extension · Feb 2026

Latest amount

$520M

Series A-X extension

Feb 2026 · B Capital and Google

$520M

Series A (oversubscribed total disclosed)

Mar 2025 · B Capital and Capital Factory

$403M

Series A

Feb 2025 · B Capital and Capital Factory

$350M

People & investors

Leadership

Jeff Cardenas

Co-Founder and CEO

Dr. Nick Paine

Co-Founder and CTO

Kay Sheils Kingsbury

Chief Financial Officer

Barry Phillips

Chief Commercial Officer

Daniel Chu

Chief Product Officer

Steve O'Dea

Chief Operating Officer

Founders

Bill Helmsing

Co-founder

Dr. Luis Sentis

Co-founder / robotics researcher and advisor

Investors

Google / Google DeepMind

Helium-3 Ventures

Japan Post Capital

John Deere

Korea Investment Partners

Magnetar

Mercedes-Benz Group

PEAK6

Qatar Investment Authority

RyderVentures

Work & culture

The company describes a culture built around creativity, humility, integrity, passion and curiosity, with a human-centric and ethical mission summarized as “Man + Machine.” Public career sources describe a hybrid/flexible schedule and open-door communication. Built In reports at least two remote days per week subject to manager discretion.

Work style

Hybrid

Visa sponsorship

Yes

Compensation

Apptronik publicly advertises competitive compensation, equity, performance bonuses and relocation assistance. U.S. H-1B/LCA records show sponsorship activity, with 2025 filings including engineering, software, systems and scientific roles; reported 2026 sponsored-role wage data spans roughly $63,000 to $343,000, with a median around $135,533. These are occupation/location-specific wage filings, not a company-wide pay range.

Benefits

Competitive salaries

Comprehensive health and insurance benefits

Flexible work hours

Open paid time off

401(k) retirement plan

Company equity

Performance bonuses

Relocation assistance

Parental and family medical leave

Training, conferences and mentorship

Product & market

Pricing

Not publicly published. Apptronik has discussed eventual Apollo pricing below $50,000 in an earlier target and approximately $80,000 per year for high-volume delivery/RaaS in 2027 commentary; treat these as targets or estimates, not current list prices.

Differentiators

—Humanoid form factor designed for human-built workplaces
—Modular bipedal and wheeled configurations
—Nearly a decade of hardware and controls development, including work related to NASA’s Valkyrie
—Combination of proprietary robot hardware, embodied-AI data operations and Google DeepMind partnership
—Human-centered safety, approachability and interaction design
—Commercial pilots with major industrial and logistics companies
—Robot Park facilities for teleoperation, autonomous execution and large-scale training data collection

Technology

Embodied AI

Humanoid robotics

Gemini Robotics / Google DeepMind models

Robot perception and autonomy

Bipedal locomotion

Wheeled mobility

Dexterous manipulation

Series-elastic and advanced linear actuators

Force-control architectures

Teleoperation and autonomous data collection

Simulation and digital twins using NVIDIA Omniverse

ROS / RT Linux heritage

Customers

Mercedes-Benz

GXO Logistics

Jabil

Manufacturing customers and partners using Apollo pilots

3PL and logistics operators

Retail and consumer packaged goods operators

Competitors

Figure AI

Agility Robotics

Tesla Optimus

Boston Dynamics

Unitree

Scale & contact

Estimated revenue

Approximately $1M–$10M based on third-party company-profile estimates; LinkedIn-derived data cited approximately $3.5M. Public revenue is not disclosed, so confidence is low.

Signals & risks

Other

Feb 2026

Very large capital raise and approximately $5 billion valuation reported by CNBC, creating significant execution and commercialization expectations as the company scales production.

Source

Other

Jun 2026

The company remains in a capital-intensive pre-scale commercialization phase: Apollo 2 and Robot Park are being used to collect training data and prepare for a future commercial Apollo 3 fleet.

Source

Latest news

Apptronik’s Apollo 2 runs Gemini Robotics 2 in dexterity demo

RuntimeWire · Jul 2026

Describes the Google DeepMind Gemini Robotics 2 and Apollo 2 demonstration, the data partnership and remaining reliability challenges in dexterous tasks.

Welcome to Robot Park: Where Apptronik’s Apollo Goes to Work

Apptronik / GlobeNewswire · Jun 2026

Announces the expanded nearly 90,000-square-foot Austin Robot Park and Apollo 2 in bipedal and wheeled configurations for data collection and training.

Apptronik raises $520 million at $5 billion valuation for Apollo robot

CNBC · Feb 2026

Reports the $520M Series A extension, approximately $5B valuation, roughly 300 employees at the time, industrial partners and plans to expand production and California operations.

Apptronik Closes Over $935 Million Series A

Apptronik · Feb 2026

Company announcement covering the $520M extension, repeat and new investors, and the Series A total exceeding $935M.

Apptronik, which makes humanoid robots, raises $350M as category heats up

TechCrunch · Feb 2025

Covers the initial Series A, prior capital efficiency, Mercedes and GXO pilots, headcount growth plans and an earlier Apollo target price below $50,000.

Jobs and careers at Apptronik

82 jobs at Apptronik

Senior Director, Total Rewards

On-site

People

Austin, TX

2d ago

On-site

Full-time