Humanoid Robot Race Heats Up: Google Joins the Fray with $350M Funding for Apptronik
The humanoid robot industry is experiencing a surge in investment and development, and tech giants are taking notice. Apptronik, a leading player in the field, has secured $350 million in Series A funding, with Google (GOOG, GOOGL) joining as a co-lead investor.
Apptronik's latest funding round, co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory, represents a significant milestone in the company's growth. The funds will be used to accelerate production and bring Apptronik's humanoid robots to commercial markets.
CEO Jeff Cardenas believes this investment signals a critical inflection point for the industry. Apptronik's flagship product, "Apollo," leverages NVIDIA (NVDA) GPUs and targets industrial and manufacturing use cases. The company has already secured partnerships with GXO Logistics (GXO) and Mercedes-Benz (MBG.DE, MBGAF).
Cardenas envisions expanding Apptronik's presence into healthcare and eldercare in the future. The rise of humanoid robots has gained attention thanks to Elon Musk's promotion of Tesla's (TSLA) Optimus prototype.
Research from Citi forecasts the emergence of 648 million humanoid robots by 2050, with a total addressable market (TAM) potentially reaching $209 billion by 2035 and $7 trillion by 2050. Parcel delivery, construction, food delivery, and home services are projected to drive the most significant growth.
Over 50 companies are actively developing humanoid robots, including Apptronik. Notable competitors include Prosper Robotics' Alfie, a robot butler, and Macco Robotics' Kime, a humanoid bartender.
Rob Garlick, head of innovation, technology, and future of work at Citi Global Insights, emphasizes the rapid evolution of humanoid robotics: "This has gone from sci-fi to development and is about to launch into something very big."