Apptronik Funding Rounds
| Round (date, lead) | Amount ($M) | Post-Money ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| NSF Grant (2017-12, early R&D) | 0.22 | |
| Seed (2022-06, Capital Factory + Grit) | 14.6 | |
| Seed / Strategic (2023-02, Terex) | 13.9 | |
| Series A (2025-02, B Capital + Capital Factory; reopened to $403M) | 403 | 1,800 |
| Series A Extension (2026-02, Google) | 520 | 5,500 |
Updated at 2026-02
Apptronik Apollo + Mercedes-Benz Berlin: Deployment Timeline
| Date / Milestone | Site / Robot | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 2016. Apptronik founded | Pre-Apollo | Founded as commercialization spinoff from UT Austin Human Centered Robotics Lab; founders include Jeff Cardenas + Nick Paine; early platforms target NASA + research |
| 2023-08. Apollo unveiled | Apollo Gen 1 | 5 ft 8 in humanoid; 4 hour hot-swap battery; 25 kg payload; targets industrial logistics + manufacturing. Hand DoF specs withheld at unveiling (filled in 2025) |
| 2024-03. Mercedes-Benz pilot announced | Apollo at Mercedes Berlin | Mercedes commits to Apollo trial at Manufacturing Berlin plant for logistics tasks (parts shuttling between assembly cells); Mercedes makes minority investment ($50M+ cited) |
| 2024-Q3 to Q4. Initial Berlin trial | Apollo (single-digit units) | Apollo at Mercedes Berlin executes parts-shuttle and tote-retrieval workflows; deployment size single-digit; characterized as 'evaluation phase' |
| 2024-10. Magna strategic investment + pilot | Apollo at Magna sites | Magna (Tier-1 auto supplier) invests in Apptronik Series A; characterizes Apollo as candidate for Magna factory floor |
| 2025-02-13. Series A $415M at $1.6B post-money | Apollo (production scale-up) | Google CapitalG leads with $350M; Mercedes + Magna + John Deere + AT&T + Qatar IA + B Capital co-invest. Distinctive multi-strategic backing |
| 2025-H1. Mercedes Berlin pilot expansion | Apollo (small fleet) | Mercedes characterizes pilot as transitioning from 'evaluation' to 'integration'; Apptronik discloses 'multiple cells' at Berlin facility (specific count not disclosed) |
| 2025-Q2. GXO Logistics pilot | Apollo at GXO sites | GXO + Apptronik partnership covers 3PL warehouse-tote-retrieval workflows; positioned as second commercial humanoid + GXO pairing (after Agility Digit) |
| 2025-Q3. Jabil pilot announced | Apollo at Jabil sites | Jabil (contract manufacturer) trials Apollo on electronics assembly and small-parts handling; expands Apptronik addressable market beyond auto + logistics |
| 2025-Q4. Mercedes Berlin multi-cell deployment characterized | Apollo at Mercedes Berlin | Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Berlin disclosed humanoid integration as 'operational' for select assembly-cell adjacencies; first known auto OEM to use the 'operational' framing publicly |
| 2026-02. Series A extension $520M | Apollo (capacity scale-up) | Apptronik adds $520M extension to Series A at higher valuation; targets Apollo Gen 2 development + manufacturing capacity expansion through 2027 |
| Editorial. Disclosure cadence comparison | Methodology note | Apptronik publishes deployment-stage qualitative updates (evaluation → integration → operational) but does not publish robot-count cadence. Mercedes Berlin pilot depth is harder to triangulate than Figure-BMW; numbers should be treated as 'order of magnitude tens of robots' as of 2025-Q4. |
Updated at 2026-Q1
Apptronik in Humanoid Robots
Apptronik
$
Apollo humanoid robot for manufacturing. $935M+ raised at $5.5B valuation. Mercedes-Benz pilot.
Key Milestones
Jan 2016
Launch
Apptronik founded as UT Austin Human Centered Robotics Lab spinout by Jeff Cardenas + Dr. Luis Sentis + Nick Paine; early NASA SBIR contracts to upgrade Valkyrie (NASA's R5) and DARPA actuator R&D: 30+ generations of actuators iterated over 8 years before Apollo
Aug 2023
Launch
Apollo humanoid revealed: 173cm, 73kg, 25kg payload, 4-hour swappable battery, designed for warehouse manipulation; modular swap-out architecture enables 24/7 operation; Apptronik leverages 8 years of NASA Valkyrie + DARPA actuator IP
Mar 2024
Commercial
Mercedes-Benz pilot announced: Apollo trialed at Berlin/Sindelfingen and Hungarian Kecskemét lines for kitting and inspection; first major German automaker humanoid contract, parallels Figure-BMW deal week
Jul 2024
Commercial
Mercedes-Benz expanded pilot at Berlin plant: Apollo performs commercial inspection + parts delivery tasks in production cell; Mercedes signals path to long-term contract conversion
Sep 2024
Partnership
Google DeepMind partnership announced: collaboration on AI foundation models for Apollo, leveraging RT-2/Gemini multimodal capabilities; gives Apptronik AI partner mirroring Figure-OpenAI dynamic
Nov 2024
Milestone
Apollo bimanual pick-and-place demo: sustained 8-hour shift in lab environment; demonstrates target uptime for Mercedes/GXO-class deployments and validates swappable-battery architecture
Feb 2025
Funding
Series A $350M co-led by B Capital + Capital Factory with Google participation; cumulative funding to $403M (originally $53M before this round); valuation ~$1.6B post-money
Mar 2025
Commercial
GXO Logistics commercial pilot announced: Apollo first long-term humanoid contract in 3PL; mirrors Agility's GXO deal with parallel pilot at Atlanta-area facility, gives GXO competitive sourcing across humanoid vendors
Mar 2025
Funding
Series A extension oversubscribed: additional $180M extension brings round to $530M total; cumulative funding crosses $580M; mostly Google + B Capital follow-on
Sep 2025
Commercial
Apollo deployed in production at Mercedes-Benz Berlin and GXO Atlanta sites under full multi-year contract: graduates from pilot to operational status; reported $30/hour blended cost vs. teleoperation overhead
Feb 2026
Funding
Series A extension Feb 2026: adds $520M led by B Capital + Google at $5-5.5B valuation; cumulative funding reaches $935M; Apptronik becomes 2nd-largest humanoid private fundraise after Figure
Feb 2026
Product
Apollo 2 generation revealed: designed with Jabil for higher-volume contract manufacturing; modular design optimized for assembly cost reduction; Apptronik signals plan to ship 1K+ Apollo 2 units in 2026