The race to deploy humanoids is heating up, but the valuations are wildly divergent.
Apptronik, the Austin-based humanoid startup, has secured a $520 million Series A extension backed by industry titans Google, Mercedes-Benz, B Capital, and the Qatar Investment Authority. The round values the company at approximately $5 billion—a significant sum, yet a stark contrast to rival Figure AI’s recent $39 billion valuation.
🏭 THE INDUSTRIAL PUSH: The capital will fuel the commercialization of Apollo, Apptronik’s general-purpose humanoid designed for warehouse and manufacturing tasks.
- The Scale-Up: Funds will be used to ramp production, expand the 300-person workforce, and build a new training facility in Austin.
- The Customers: Apptronik already has commercial agreements with Mercedes-Benz and GXO Logistics to deploy robots in real-world environments.
- The Tech: Apollo features both legs and wheels to navigate existing workstations, aiming to replace task-specific machines with flexible human-scale labor.
🧠 THE “GEMINI” BRAIN: A critical piece of the deal is the deepening partnership with Google DeepMind.
- Integration: Apptronik provides the hardware and real-world training data, while Google provides the “brains” via its Gemini-based AI models. This “Body + Brain” approach is becoming the standard model for the sector (similar to OpenAI + Figure).
💡 ANALYST TAKEAWAY: Howard Morgan (B Capital) said it best: “The valuation relative to its potential is more attractive than some of its peers.” Investors are betting on Apptronik as the “Value Play” in the humanoid sector. With a NASA heritage (Valkyrie program) and a differentiated focus on robotic hand dexterity, Apptronik is positioning itself to win on execution rather than just hype. The $34 billion valuation gap between them and Figure AI suggests the market hasn’t fully decided who will win the warehouse floor.
👇 Robotics Experts: Does a $5B valuation leave more room for upside, or does Figure AI’s $39B price tag reflect a superior tech stack?