Apptronik Apollo

Apptronik is an Austin, Texas robotics company founded in 2016 as a spin-out from the University of Texas Human Centered Robotics Lab, with significant early work conducted under NASA contracts. Apollo, revealed in 2023, is Apptronik's first commercially deployed humanoid robot — standing 173 cm tall, weighing 73 kg, and built specifically for logistics and industrial applications. One of its most practical design decisions is a hot-swappable battery: teams can swap a depleted unit for a charged one in seconds, giving Apollo close to continuous operation without lengthy charging stops.

Apollo carries a 25 kg payload capacity and is designed to handle tasks that currently require human labour in warehouses, supply chains, and manufacturing facilities. The robot's design heritage from NASA research is visible in its mechatronic architecture — particularly its series elastic actuators, which give its joints compliant, force-controlled movement suited to working safely around people and with objects that require gentle handling. In November 2023, Apptronik announced a commercial pilot agreement with Mercedes-Benz to deploy Apollo units at automotive manufacturing facilities, and in 2024 a further partnership with Google to develop robot AI models using Apollo as a training platform.

As of mid-2026, Apollo is in an active commercial pilot phase. Apptronik has raised approximately $350 million in funding, including backing from Google and others, and is scaling its manufacturing capacity in Austin. The company's strategy positions Apollo as a workhorse for supply chain automation — not the most sophisticated humanoid on the market, but among the most practically deployable, with a clear target market and paying enterprise customers already in operation.