Apptronik Raises $935M to Scale Humanoid Robots at $5B Valuation
Major Capital Infusion for Humanoid Development
Apptronik, a University of Texas spinout focused on humanoid robotics, has raised a total of $935 million in a reopened and extended Series A round, reaching a valuation above $5 billion. The latest $520 million tranche includes participation from both existing and new investors, among them Google and Mercedes-Benz.
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The financing ranks among the largest single funding rounds in the humanoid robotics sector to date. It positions Apptronik as one of the most heavily capitalized companies developing general purpose humanoid platforms for industrial and commercial use.
Focus on Commercial Humanoids
Apptronik is building humanoid robots designed to operate in human environments such as factories, warehouses, and logistics facilities. The company has collaborated with Google DeepMind and other partners on integrating advanced AI models into its robotic systems.
While detailed deployment figures have not been disclosed, the scale of the raise suggests preparations for:
- Expanded pilot programs with industrial partners
- Scaling manufacturing and supply chains
- Further development of autonomy, perception, and manipulation capabilities
Mercedes-Benz’s involvement is notable given ongoing interest across the automotive sector in deploying humanoid robots for material handling and flexible assembly support inside existing production lines.
Capital Intensity of Humanoid Robotics
Humanoid robot development requires significant capital due to the integration of complex electromechanical systems, high performance compute, custom actuators, and advanced control software. Large funding rounds have become increasingly common as startups transition from prototype stages to pre production and early commercialization.
The nearly $1 billion total raised by Apptronik provides runway for multi year hardware iteration cycles, safety validation, and the buildout of service and support infrastructure required by enterprise customers.
Strategic Signal for the Sector
The investment also reflects broader investor conviction that humanoid robots can address labor shortages and enable flexible automation in environments originally designed for people. Unlike fixed industrial robots, humanoids are being positioned as reconfigurable systems capable of performing varied tasks without extensive facility redesign.
With this financing, Apptronik joins a small group of humanoid developers that have secured war chest level funding to pursue scaled deployment. The coming 12 to 24 months are likely to determine how effectively these resources translate into reliable, cost competitive systems operating in real world production settings.
More details are available in the original report from TechCrunch.
