DEPLOYDatabase

Company

Apptronik

Austin-based humanoid-robotics company, founded 2016 as a spinout of the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin.

Track Apptronik
Founded
2016
HQ
Austin, Texas, USA
Status
private

The verified answer

As of Aug 2026, DEPLOY verifies Apptronik: 3 models, 7 deployments across 6 regions, $2.5B raised. 21 sources back the record.

CategoryHumanoids

Funding

$2.5B

Models

3

Deployments

7

Patents

9

Overview

Austin-based humanoid-robotics company, founded 2016 as a spinout of the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Its humanoid Apollo (1.7m, 73kg, replaceable battery, modular design) is built for repetitive, physically demanding tasks in logistics, manufacturing, and retail, and is notable for the breadth of its enterprise engagements.

Deployments/partnerships: Apollo has simultaneous engagements with Mercedes-Benz (automotive), GXO (logistics), and Jabil (electronics manufacturing, which is also a contract-manufacturing partner), plus Google DeepMind (AI) and NVIDIA (compute): broader multi-industry validation than most single-platform competitors.

Financials: In February 2026 Apptronik closed a $520 million Series A extension, bringing its total Series A to over $935 million and total funding to roughly $1 billion, at a ~$5.5 billion valuation. Key investors include Google, Hyundai, Schaeffler, B Capital, and others.

Verified record

Verified deployments
7 deployments on file
Active incidents
None on file

Valuation of record

DEPLOY VERIFIED
$5.5B (reported, approximate)as of Feb 2026

Priced roundSeries A post-money

See the full valuations ranking →

Key facts

Valuationsee valuations ranking →

~$5.3B (post-money, Feb 2026; ~3x prior Series A per Apptronik)

Funding raisedsee investors →

~$1B total ($935M+ Series A incl. $520M Feb-2026 extension)

Robot

Apollo, 1.7m, 73kg, modular, replaceable battery

Enterprise partners

Mercedes-Benz, GXO, Jabil, Google DeepMind, NVIDIA

Founded

2016 (UT Austin spinout)

Backerssee investors →

Google, Mercedes-Benz, B Capital, PEAK6 (Feb-2026 round); Hyundai, Schaeffler (earlier rounds)

wikidata

wikidata.org

Robot Park

90,000 sq ft data factory in Austin, TX (announced June 2026)

Apollo 3

next-gen humanoid, bipedal + wheeled configs, expected 2027

Apollo 2 deployments

Mercedes-Benz, GXO, Google DeepMind

Apollo 2

Next-gen humanoid robot unveiled June 2026 — bipedal and wheeled-base configurations

$520M funding

Raised $520M to ramp Apollo production and expand commercial/pilot deployments

Data & sources

Press releases

3

News coverage

4

Patent documents

9

Web sources

5

21 sources backing this record.View all →

Models (3)

View all models →

Current platform

Apollo 2

Second-generation Apptronik humanoid available in bipedal and wheeled configurations, serving primarily as a data collection platform at Robot Park — a 90,000 sq ft facility in Austin, TX developed with Google DeepMind. CEO Jeff Cardenas has described Apollo 2 as still prototype-stage, with Apollo 3 expected to be the first true commercial product. Hundreds of units built as of mid-2026. Data collected feeds Gemini Robotics.

humanoidView model →

Current platform

Astra

Apptronik's Astra is a bimanual upper-body humanoid for dexterous two-handed manipulation; it uses series-elastic, torque-controlled actuators for compliance and safe human collaboration, and is being tested for supply-chain tasks alongside the company's full-body Apollo robot.

humanoidView model →

Previous platform

Apollo

Apptronik's bipedal general-purpose humanoid, unveiled August 2023, standing 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) and weighing 72.6 kg with a 25 kg payload capacity and 4-hour hot-swappable battery. Commercial pilots launched in 2024 with Mercedes-Benz (assembly kit delivery and component inspection at German production facilities), GXO Logistics (trailer unloading and lineside delivery), and Jabil (inspection, sorting, and kitting; Jabil also manufactures Apollo units). Apollo was superseded by Apollo 2 in June 2026, which introduced bipedal and wheeled configurations and a 90,000 sq ft Robot Park data-collection facility in Austin, Texas.

humanoidView model →

Relationships

GGXO LogisticsDeployerGGoogle DeepMindCo-developerMMercedes-BenzDeployerMMercedes-BenzCustomerJJabil Inc.ManufacturerJJabilManufacturerGGoogle DeepMindTechnology partnerGGoogleTechnology partnerGGoogleInvestorBB CapitalInvestor

Claims ledger

Public, dated claims by Apptronik, each tracked against the evidence. Status is a DEPLOY assessment from primary sources: verified means an independent source confirms it; contradicted means one refutes it; open means the outcome is not yet determinable. Every entry keeps its verbatim quote and source so you can check the call yourself.

Claim Integrity: 33% (1 of 3 resolved claims verified; 4 tracked)
  • VerifiedCustomer · claimed 2026-03-01
    “Mercedes-Benz is investing millions in Apptronik, integrating AI tools, and expanding Apollo deployment”

    Apollo is deployed at Mercedes-Benz Digital Factory Campus in Berlin-Marienfelde and at another facility. Mercedes investment confirmed. Real factory deployment, not just demo. https://ifactoryapp.com/industries/manufacturing-plant/humanoid-robots-factory-floor-figure-apollo-mercedes

    claim sourcestatus evidencecite this claim
  • Partly trueCapability · claimed 2026-01-01
    “Apollo humanoid robots bring intelligent, mobile automation to manufacturing, warehouses, and retail”

    Apollo is deployed at Mercedes-Benz (manufacturing, verified). No warehouse or retail deployments confirmed. The claim covers three environments but only one is verified. https://www.manus-meta.com/use-cases/mercedes-benz-deploys-apptroniks-apollo-at-factory-floor-using-manus-gloves

    claim sourcestatus evidencecite this claim
  • Partly trueTimeline · claimed 2023-01-01 · deadline 2024-12-31
    “Apptronik aims for full commercial production by end of 2024”

    Apptronik raised $350M Series A (Feb 2025) + $520M more, with pilot deployments, but not full commercial production by end of 2024. Production ramping in 2025-2026.

    claim sourcestatus evidencecite this claim
  • OpenCapability · claimed 2023-01-01
    “Eventually Apollo will be autonomous but still controllable”

    "Eventually" is an open-ended claim. Current Apollo deployment at Mercedes is supervised/pilot. The "will be autonomous" phrasing acknowledges current state is not fully autonomous. Honest framing but unverifiable.

    claim sourcecite this claim

Disagree with a status? Apptronik can submit a correction with evidence and we log the response on the record. Methodology and the full industry ledger live at /stats/claim-integrity.

Explainers

Plain-language answers to the questions people ask about Apptronik, from DEPLOY’s explainer library. Each is written in the language of the question and cross-checked against this registry.

How much will Tesla Optimus cost?
Elon Musk has publicly targeted a $20,000–$30,000 consumer price for Tesla Optimus, but Tesla has not opened orders, published a confirmed retail price, or shipped a single unit to a paying customer as of mid-2026. The $20K–$30K figure is a forward target, not a current price.Read the full explainer →
When can you buy a Tesla Optimus?
As of mid-2026, Tesla Optimus is not available for purchase by consumers or enterprises through any public channel. Elon Musk has stated Tesla expects to be producing Optimus for external sale in the late 2020s, but no order book, reservation system, or fulfillment timeline has been published.Read the full explainer →
Can a Tesla Optimus clean a house, cook, do laundry, or drive a car?
Not at consumer-deployment scale. As of mid-2026, Tesla Optimus has been demonstrated walking, performing battery-cell sorting inside Tesla factories, and folding clothes / handling objects / serving drinks at staged events. Tesla acknowledged some of the most-shared demos involved teleoperation, not autonomous control. Optimus has not cleaned a house, cooked a meal, done a full laundry workflow, or driven a car under unprompted autonomous control in any customer environment. The shipped autonomous capability is narrower than the marketing reel suggests; consumer-deployment task capability is claimed-with-demonstration-evidence, not verified.Read the full explainer →
How fast is Tesla Optimus improving?
Tesla publishes a steady cadence of Optimus improvement claims (generation reveals, factory-learning narrative, capability demonstrations) but verified external-deployment evidence remains thin. Per Tesla disclosure, ~300-500 Optimus units operate in factory-learning phase at Tesla facilities; no verified third-party customer deployments exist. Per DEPLOY's framework, capability-improvement claims sit at consumer-promised tier; trajectory framing attaches editorial accountability that subsequent events will be measured against.Read the full explainer →
What is the battery life of Tesla Optimus?
Tesla has not published an official battery capacity or runtime for Optimus. Publicly visible information and Musk statements suggest a working-day target in the range of a single shift (roughly 4–8 hours of light task work), but no Tesla-confirmed specification exists.Read the full explainer →
How much does a humanoid robot cost in 2026?
Humanoid robot pricing in 2026 spans five availability tiers with different verification states. Research-tools pricing is verified and publicly listed (Unitree G1 at $13,500-$16,000; R1 at $5,900). Consumer-available pricing is verified (1X NEO at $20,000 outright purchase or $499/month subscription, six-month minimum). Enterprise-deployed pricing is not publicly disclosed (Figure 03, Apptronik Apollo, Agility Digit under contract; analyst estimates put the range at $50,000-$250,000). Consumer-promised pricing is a claim (Tesla Optimus at $20,000-$30,000 at-scale target). Engineering-credibility tier hardware costs $200,000+ but is enterprise R&D only (Boston Dynamics Atlas).Read the full explainer →
Show 37 more explainers
Can I buy a humanoid robot in 2026?
Yes, but the answer depends on what you mean by buy. Five tiers of humanoid availability exist in 2026: consumer-available (1X NEO at $20,000 outright or $499/month subscription, six-month minimum); research-tools-pricing (Unitree G1 at $13,500-$16,000 and R1 at $5,900); enterprise-deployed (Figure, Apptronik, Agility under contract); consumer-promised but not shipping (Tesla Optimus); and engineering-credibility with commercial transition pending (Boston Dynamics Atlas). Which fits your need depends on whether you're a consumer, a developer, an enterprise procurement organization, or waiting on Tesla.Read the full explainer →
Which is the cheapest humanoid robot you can buy?
The Unitree R1 is the cheapest walking humanoid robot commercially available in 2026 at $5,900 base (smaller-form mass-market consumer + developer platform launched July 2025). For a full-size bipedal humanoid, the Unitree G1 starts at roughly $13,500 to $16,000 base. Both are made by Unitree Robotics (Hangzhou, China) and represent the most aggressively priced humanoid platforms commercially available; every other publicly-listed humanoid is meaningfully more expensive.Read the full explainer →
What is the best humanoid robot to buy in 2026?
There is no single best humanoid robot in 2026; the right pick depends on which of the five availability tiers matches your use case. For consumer home use, 1X NEO is the only verified-available option ($20,000 outright or $499/month subscription with a six-month minimum; late-2026 US delivery). For research and developer access, the Unitree G1 is the practical choice. For warehouse and factory pilots, Agility Digit, Apptronik Apollo, and Figure 03 are the platforms with documented commercial deployments. For elite R&D, Boston Dynamics Atlas remains the dynamic-motion benchmark. Tesla Optimus remains consumer-promised but not for sale.Read the full explainer →
Who are the leading humanoid robot makers?
By active commercial deployment activity in 2026, the leading humanoid robot makers are Tesla (Optimus, factory pilots), Figure AI (02, BMW pilot), Agility Robotics (Digit, warehouse operators), Apptronik (Apollo, Mercedes-Benz pilot), 1X Technologies (Neo, consumer pre-launch), Boston Dynamics (Atlas, R&D), and Unitree Robotics (G1/H-series, research). A fast-growing Chinese cohort (UBTech, Xiaomi, XPeng, Fourier, EngineAI, and others) is shipping platforms at increasingly competitive price points.Read the full explainer →
What is the typical lifespan of a humanoid robot?
There is no established lifespan benchmark for modern humanoid robots in 2026. The longest-running commercial deployments are under three years old. Component-level data exists: harmonic drives are typically rated for 20,000 to 30,000 hours of industrial duty, lithium battery packs for 1,000 to 3,000 full charge cycles, and brushless DC actuators for several years of regular use. Battery and actuator wear, not advertised lifespan, are the practical limits.Read the full explainer →
Can humanoid robots replace human workers?
Not at labor-market scale in 2026. Verified enterprise deployments operate at pilot scope: Figure 02 at BMW Spartanburg assembled 30,000 vehicles over 11 months; Agility Digit at GXO Flowery Branch handles 100,000 totes per year; Apptronik Apollo runs 3 Fortune-500 pilots; 1X NEO performs consumer household tasks with explicit teleoperation disclosure. These are meaningful capability demonstrations but not workforce-displacement at scale. The framework reads workforce-replacement claims as long-horizon trajectory rather than near-term reality.Read the full explainer →
Is 1X NEO autonomous, or is it controlled by humans?
1X Technologies has explicitly disclosed that NEO relies on remote human teleoperators for complex household tasks during the consumer rollout phase. NEO is a teleop-bridged humanoid, not a fully autonomous one. 1X frames the teleoperation as the deliberate strategic path to consumer scale, not a stop-gap.Read the full explainer →
Is Figure AI a Chinese company?
No. Figure AI is a US company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, founded in 2022 by American entrepreneur Brett Adcock. The confusion likely reflects the substantial Chinese humanoid-manufacturer presence in the broader category (Unitree, AgiBot, UBTech), but Figure AI is American.Read the full explainer →
What is Figure 03?
Figure 03 is the third-generation humanoid robot from Figure AI, a US humanoid manufacturer based in Sunnyvale, California. The robot stands 173 cm (about 5'8"), weighs 61 kg, and is currently in active pilot deployment at a Catalyst Brands distribution logistics center. It is not available for consumer purchase as of mid-2026.Read the full explainer →
What is Apptronik Apollo and how does it compare to other humanoids?
Apptronik Apollo is a bipedal humanoid robot from Apptronik, a US humanoid maker based in Austin, Texas with NASA Valkyrie research heritage. Apollo is deployed in enterprise pilots across three Fortune-500 customers (Mercedes-Benz, GXO Logistics, Jabil) and represents the enterprise-breadth strategy in the humanoid commercial deployment landscape.Read the full explainer →
Is Boston Dynamics Atlas commercially available?
No, not yet. Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid is in research-to-commercial transition following the April 2024 reveal of the new electric Atlas platform. The company's quadruped Spot is the commercially-verified product line; Atlas commercial deployment timeline has not been announced. Boston Dynamics is owned by Hyundai Motor Group, which positions Atlas for industrial/enterprise rather than consumer markets.Read the full explainer →
How much do the Unitree G1 and R1 humanoid robots cost?
Unitree's G1 humanoid robot starts at roughly $13,500 to $16,000 for a base research-grade configuration, with more advanced versions running higher. The smaller R1 starts at $5,900 for an entry consumer and developer configuration. Both are made by Unitree Robotics, a Chinese manufacturer based in Hangzhou, and represent the most aggressively priced humanoid platforms commercially available in 2026.Read the full explainer →
What is Mentee Robotics and the MenteeBot humanoid?
Mentee Robotics is an Israeli humanoid robot maker founded in 2022 by Amnon Shashua, the AI researcher who also leads Mobileye and AI21. Mobileye acquired Mentee in January 2026 for approximately $900 million ($612M cash plus Mobileye Class A shares), making Mentee an independent operating unit inside Mobileye. The company's MenteeBot humanoid is positioned as an AI-first general-purpose platform leveraging Mobileye's autonomous-vehicle perception heritage.Read the full explainer →
Tesla Optimus vs Figure 03 vs 1X NEO: which humanoid should I actually buy?
If you want to buy a humanoid robot in 2026, the answer depends on which tier of availability matches your need. 1X NEO is the only consumer-available option ($20,000 outright or $499/month subscription with six-month minimum, late-2026 US delivery). Figure 03 is enterprise-deployed only (Catalyst Brands pilot; no consumer commerce). Tesla Optimus is consumer-promised but not shipping (Musk's $20,000-$30,000 target is a forward claim, no order channel). The three products operate at three structurally distinct tiers.Read the full explainer →
Which humanoid robot makers are American, Chinese, or from other countries?
The major American humanoid makers are Figure AI (Sunnyvale CA), Apptronik (Austin TX), Tesla (Palo Alto CA / Austin TX), Boston Dynamics (Waltham MA; Hyundai-owned), and Agility Robotics (Salem OR). The major Chinese makers are Unitree Robotics (Hangzhou), AgiBot (Shanghai), UBTech (Shenzhen), Fourier Intelligence (Shanghai), XPeng Robotics (Guangzhou), and several others. 1X Technologies operates a Norwegian-American structure (Moss Norway HQ plus Hayward California factory). Mentee Robotics is Israeli (acquired by Mobileye January 2026). Sanctuary AI is Canadian (Vancouver).Read the full explainer →
How does teleoperation differ across humanoid robot manufacturers?
Every major humanoid manufacturer uses teleoperation in development and demonstration. The differential across the cohort is the disclosure layer, not the underlying practice. 1X is the most transparent (explicit teleop disclosure on the consumer commerce surface). Tesla operated framing-without-disclosure at We Robot 2024 (autonomy framing; subsequently confirmed teleoperated). Figure deploys with human-in-loop for exception handling at customer facilities. Apptronik has mixed disclosure across enterprise pilots. The framework treats the disclosure differential as the editorial finding.Read the full explainer →
What is Sanctuary AI and the Phoenix humanoid robot?
Sanctuary AI is a Canadian humanoid robotics company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, founded by Geordie Rose and Suzanne Gildert (both Kindred AI alumni). The company's Phoenix platform is a seventh-generation humanoid emphasizing a cognitive architecture that combines symbolic reasoning with neural learning, structurally distinct from the end-to-end foundation-model approach most US humanoid makers pursue. Sanctuary AI is privately held; not publicly traded.Read the full explainer →
What is UBTech Walker S2 and is UBTech a real humanoid company?
UBTech Robotics is a publicly-traded Chinese humanoid manufacturer headquartered in Shenzhen, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Walker S2 is the company's industrial-focused humanoid platform deployed in factory pilots with BYD, Geely, Foxconn, and other manufacturing customers. UBTech is real, with verified commercial pilots; the company distinguishes itself from the US private humanoid cohort by being publicly listed with disclosed financial state.Read the full explainer →
Which humanoid robot manufacturers can I invest in?
Direct equity exposure to humanoid manufacturers in 2026 is mostly limited to a small set of publicly-traded companies: UBTech Robotics (HKEX-listed Chinese maker), Tesla (NASDAQ; Optimus is one product), and Hyundai Motor Group (KRX; Boston Dynamics parent). The major US humanoid pure-plays (Figure AI, 1X Technologies, Apptronik, Agility Robotics, Sanctuary AI) are privately held and accessible only via venture-stage or accredited-investor channels. Mentee Robotics was acquired by Mobileye in January 2026. DEPLOY is not an investment advisor; this guide documents verification posture, not investment advice.Read the full explainer →
Can humanoid robots cook?
No consumer-deployed humanoid robot can cook autonomously in 2026. Demonstrations and research exist across the cohort; consumer-grade cooking capability is not verified at deployment scale. Purpose-built robotic kitchens (such as Moley Robotics, a non-humanoid installed kitchen) exist at the research-and-experimental tier near $300,000. For a general-purpose humanoid robot that can prepare meals autonomously in a customer's kitchen, the answer is years from verified consumer-deployment.Read the full explainer →
Can humanoid robots do laundry?
Yes, with disclosure. 1X NEO is the verified-leader for consumer-deployment laundry capability in 2026: NEO performs laundry tasks (folding, sorting, light loading) in consumer homes with explicit Expert Mode teleoperation disclosure for complex tasks. Other cohort manufacturers (Tesla Optimus, Figure 03, Apptronik Apollo, Boston Dynamics Atlas, Unitree) demonstrate clothes-folding or related manipulation but do not consumer-deploy laundry capability. Laundry is the canonical example of how task capability varies dramatically across the humanoid cohort: 1X delivers verified consumer capability with teleop disclosure; others deliver demonstrations without consumer deployment.Read the full explainer →
What can humanoid robots actually do today?
Humanoid robot capability in 2026 sorts into four verification tiers per DEPLOY's framework. Verified consumer-deployed: 1X NEO performs laundry, organizing, and light manipulation in customer homes with explicit teleop disclosure. Verified enterprise-deployed: Figure 03, Apptronik Apollo, Agility Digit, and UBTech Walker S2 perform manufacturing and logistics tasks at Fortune-500 customer facilities. Research and demonstration: Boston Dynamics Atlas, Tesla Optimus, and Unitree platforms show capability footage but do not deploy. Claimed future: cooking, autonomous home assistance, childcare, and general-purpose household work remain claimed across the cohort but not consumer-deployed.Read the full explainer →
What is Agility Robotics and the Digit humanoid robot?
Agility Robotics is a US humanoid robotics company headquartered in Albany, Oregon, with humanoid R&D heritage tracing through the Cassie research platform that preceded Digit. The Digit humanoid is the company's commercial warehouse and logistics platform, deployed in pilots at GXO Logistics (the 100,000-tote scaled-throughput anchor), Amazon Spanx Tennessee, Schaeffler, and other industrial customers. Agility is privately held, with Amazon as a strategic investor and a manufacturing facility (RoboFab) in Salem, Oregon.Read the full explainer →
What is Fourier Intelligence and the GR-3 humanoid?
Fourier Intelligence is a Chinese humanoid robotics company headquartered in Shanghai with distinctive technical heritage in lower-limb exoskeleton and rehabilitation robotics. The GR-3 is the company's third-generation general-purpose humanoid platform, evolved from the GR-1 and GR-2 predecessors. Fourier occupies a distinctive position in the Chinese humanoid cohort: medical and rehabilitation engineering heritage transitioning to general-purpose humanoid product, with research-platform commercial positioning rather than the factory-deployment focus of UBTech Walker S2 or the research-tools pricing of Unitree G1 and R1.Read the full explainer →
What is PAL Robotics and the TALOS humanoid?
PAL Robotics is a Spanish humanoid robotics company headquartered in Barcelona, founded in 2004 with extensive European research-consortium history. The TALOS is the company's full-size adult bipedal humanoid platform, positioned for research-institution deployment rather than consumer or scaled-enterprise commercial use. PAL extends DEPLOY's humanoid manufacturer cohort to European context, representing a distinct geographic-and-strategic position from the American, Chinese, and Canadian cohort members.Read the full explainer →
What's the difference between a humanoid robot and an industrial robot?
Humanoid robots are bipedal robots with arms, hands, and roughly human-like proportions designed to operate in human environments and perform general-purpose tasks (Tesla Optimus, 1X NEO, Figure 03, Apptronik Apollo, Boston Dynamics Atlas, Unitree G1). Industrial robots are fixed-base manipulator arms designed for specific factory-automation tasks at high precision and reliability (FANUC, Universal Robots, KUKA, ABB). The categories share the word 'robot' but operate at substantively different scales (industrial robotics is a mature commercial category with hundreds of thousands of installed units; humanoid robotics is an emerging category with consumer-deployment at single-manufacturer scale).Read the full explainer →
What is physical AI?
Physical AI refers to AI systems that operate in the physical world rather than purely in digital environments. The category spans autonomous vehicles, humanoid robots, autonomous mobile robots in warehouses, drones, and AI-augmented industrial automation. Physical AI differs from digital-only AI in that the system must perceive, decide, and act under physical-world constraints (sensor noise, latency, mechanical failure modes, regulatory frameworks). DEPLOY tracks physical AI across four subcategories with distinct verification frameworks per category.Read the full explainer →
What is a foundation model for robotics?
A foundation model for robotics extends the large-language-model paradigm to physical-action prediction. Trained on robot demonstrations rather than internet text alone, these models output action sequences (motor commands, manipulator trajectories) rather than text tokens. The category is dominated by vision-language-action (VLA) architectures that take camera images plus optional language instructions as input and produce action tokens as output. Companies building these models constitute the brain-provider tier of the robotics value chain, distinct from the humanoid OEM tier that builds the physical platforms the models run on.Read the full explainer →
What is Skild AI and the Skild Brain foundation model?
Skild AI is a US foundation-model-for-robotics company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, founded by Deepak Pathak and Abhinav Gupta (both Carnegie Mellon University robotics-research alumni). The company's Skild Brain product is a vision-language-action (VLA) foundation model architected around a cross-platform general-purpose thesis: a single model trained to operate across multiple robot platforms rather than platform-specific brains. Skild has raised substantial 2024-2025 funding rounds; the company is privately held and represents a distinctive position in the brain-provider tier of the robotics value chain.Read the full explainer →
Which companies build foundation models for robotics, and how do they compare?
The brain-provider tier of robotics in 2026 includes several distinct strategic theses. Skild AI pursues cross-platform general-purpose brain deployment. Physical Intelligence (Pi-0; Pi-0.5) emphasizes transformer-based VLA research publications. Covariant specializes in warehouse-automation foundation models. Google DeepMind operates Gemini Robotics and RT-2 across AV and humanoid research. OpenAI Robotics relaunched in May 2026 after a 2021 hiatus. NVIDIA Project GR00T pursues cross-platform humanoid integration aligned with NVIDIA's broader stack. Meta operates research-publication-emphasizing work via FAIR and Reality Labs. The cohort is at research-and-demonstration verification depth; commercial-scale deployment lags behind humanoid OEM commercial deployment substantially.Read the full explainer →
What's the difference between robotics brain providers and robot makers?
Robotics value chain operates across three structural tiers. Brain-provider tier companies (Skild AI, Physical Intelligence, Covariant, Google DeepMind, OpenAI Robotics, NVIDIA Project GR00T) build foundation models for robotics without making hardware. OEM-platform tier companies (Figure AI, Apptronik, 1X Technologies, Tesla, Agility Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Unitree, UBTech) build robot hardware platforms with integrated brains. Deployment tier represents real-world operation at customer facilities (BMW Spartanburg, GXO Flowery Branch, Mercedes-Benz pilots). The three tiers operate complementarily; understanding which tier a company occupies is essential for evaluating its competitive position and verification posture.Read the full explainer →
What does Figure's BMW Spartanburg humanoid deployment actually look like?
The Figure 02 humanoid robot has operated in production at BMW Group's Spartanburg, South Carolina plant since August 2024, contributing to the assembly of more than 30,000 BMW X3 vehicles over an 11-month deployment that accumulated 1,250 hours of runtime handling more than 90,000 parts in chassis-assembly tasks. The deployment is the canonical commercial humanoid manufacturing reference for the cohort, with end-product OEM acceptance verification distinguishing it from peer humanoid deployments. BMW Group has announced expansion to its Plant Leipzig facility as the second humanoid production site. Figure's current-generation Figure 03 is deployed at Catalyst Brands Reno, not at BMW; BMW Spartanburg remains the Figure 02 deployment anchor as of mid-2026.Read the full explainer →
What is Figure's Catalyst Brands Reno humanoid deployment?
The Figure 03 humanoid is deployed at Catalyst Brands' Reno, Nevada distribution logistics center in a pilot operation that represents Figure AI's verified non-manufacturing deployment context. Catalyst Brands is the corporate parent of Forever 21, Brooks Brothers, Aeropostale, Lucky Brand, Nautica, and other retail brands under the SPARC Group restructuring. The Reno deployment is Figure's logistics-and-distribution operational reference, complementing the Figure 02 BMW Spartanburg manufacturing reference and demonstrating Figure's dual-vertical commercial strategy across two structurally distinct deployment contexts.Read the full explainer →
What is the Apptronik Apollo deployment at Mercedes-Benz?
Apptronik's Apollo humanoid is deployed at Mercedes-Benz's Berlin-Marienfelde manufacturing facility in a pilot operation that represents Apollo's premium-segment automotive verification reference. The Mercedes-Benz partnership is one of three Apptronik enterprise customer relationships (alongside GXO Logistics and Jabil) that together establish Apollo's three-customer enterprise-deployment breadth strategy, structurally distinct from Figure AI's dual-vertical positioning and Agility's single-vertical depth specialization.Read the full explainer →
What is the Atlas deployment at Hyundai Metaplant America?
Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid is deployed at Hyundai Metaplant America's Savannah, Georgia EV manufacturing facility in a pilot operation that represents Atlas's verified enterprise customer relationship. The deployment is structurally distinguished by Hyundai's corporate-parent relationship with Boston Dynamics (Hyundai Motor Group acquired Boston Dynamics from SoftBank in 2021), creating a maker-customer relationship that differs from the arms-length customer relationships of cohort peers Figure-BMW, Apptronik-Mercedes, and Agility-GXO.Read the full explainer →
How does DEPLOY track partnership lifecycle state?
DEPLOY tracks partnership lifecycle state as a four-state framework operating at relationship-graph granularity: announced (verified-from-press-release; not-yet-active) → active (verified-deployed or verified-shipped; current_status=true) → dissolved (terminated; current_status=false with end_date populated) → unverified-current-state (announced-but-no-update-since; cap-flag honest-absence). Per Agent A's Arc C substrate, 18 partnerships + 32 parties + 14 external counterparties (via XOR pattern) + NVIDIA 4-counterparty multi-party-partnership node verified at primary-source-anchored depth. The canonical lifecycle worked example: Figure × OpenAI announced 2024 → dissolved February 2025 (status=dissolved + endDate populated). The external-name XOR pattern (partnership_parties.company_id when counterparty is tracked entity; external_name when counterparty is genuinely not-in-registry; OpenAI + Uber + Nissan + Microsoft as canonical worked examples) operates as verification-posture discipline at relationship-graph granularity. Cap-flag-as-trust-signal operates recursively on partnership framing.Read the full explainer →
How does DEPLOY track manufacturer counterparty risk at financial-state-axis granularity?
DEPLOY tracks Phase 3 Dim 2 manufacturer counterparty risk substrate at primary-source-anchored verification depth per Agent A's mfs=7 manufacturer_financial_states baseline backfill: Intuitive Surgical FY2024 $8.35B (sec_10k; mature; counterparty=low) + Stryker nine-month 2024 $16.16B (sec_10q; mature; counterparty=low; SEC-verified-figure-with-narrower-precision-cap-flag CANONICAL worked example) + Zimmer Biomet FY2024 $7.68B (sec_8k; mature; counterparty=low) + Boston Dynamics private_reported NULL revenue (mature; counterparty=low via Hyundai ~80% parent-backing CANONICAL worked example for counterparty-risk-by-parent-backing classification) + Apptronik private_reported NULL (growth; counterparty=moderate; recent $350M Series A Feb 2025) + Figure AI private_reported NULL (growth; counterparty=moderate; ~$1B Series C 2025 at ~$39B reported valuation) + 1X Technologies private_reported NULL (growth; counterparty=moderate; 2024 Series B ~$100M EQT-led + subsequent 2025 round). Cap-flag-as-trust-signal recursive at three substantive layers: SEC-verified-figure-with-narrower-precision-cap-flag pattern (Stryker Q3 nine-month $16,159M used instead of unverified FY extrapolation; verified-vs-claimed at sub-fiscal-period granularity) + honest-absence on private-financials USD fields (Apptronik + Figure + 1X all NULL revenue at honest-absence cap-flag pending primary-source disclosure) + cash_runway_basis NULL when cash_runway_months NULL across the board (validator-aware discipline; cash_runway_months not publicly-disclosed for any of these makers; cash_runway_basis stays NULL preserving validator integrity). Counterparty-risk-by-parent-backing classification discipline as canonical: Boston Dynamics counterparty=low via Hyundai ~80% subsidiary parent-backing vs Apptronik/Figure/1X counterparty=moderate as growth-stage privates without parent-backing.Read the full explainer →

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Safety record

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