Apptronik: Humanoid robots to build humanoid robots
Together with Jabil, Apptronik is ramping up the production of humanoid Apollo robots. The robots are to be used in production step by step.
(Image: Apptronik (Screenshot))
The US robotics company Apptronik, which develops and manufactures the humanoid robot Apollo, intends to ramp up production of the robot. Apptronik has enlisted the help of supply chain and production company Jabil for this purpose, the company announced on Tuesday. The two companies have entered into a partnership for this purpose. In the long term, Apptronik is aiming for Apollo robots to build their own kind.
According to the agreement, Jabil will manufacture the humanoid Apollo robot as soon as it is ready for series production and commercial use. As a first step, Jabil will support Apptronik in the testing phase. Conveniently, both companies are based in the US state of Florida, which means they have physically shorter distances between development, production, and testing.
Robots build robots
The agreement also stipulates that Jabil will use an unspecified number of Apollo robots in logistics and production. They will initially transport parts internally and perform simple, repetitive tasks in the manufacturing process. These could be tasks such as sorting parts. Apollo is currently proving that something similar already works in an ongoing pilot project with Mercedes-Benz.
Apollo is then to be gradually integrated more closely into production – also for more complex assembly work. In the long term, the plan is for the humanoid robot Apollo to build its own colleagues so that large quantities can be produced. Compared to other robotics companies such as Agility Robotics, Figure AI, Boston Dynamics and Tesla, which also want to bring humanoid robots for industrial applications onto the market, Apptronik is not quite as flush with cash.
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Apptronik only received a financial injection of 350 million US dollars in a Series A round in mid-February 2025. However, the money will now be used immediately to start production of the Apollo robot together with Jabil to be able to serve industrial customers early on and not fall behind the competition. Apptronik also has a partnership with Google DeepMind, an AI company that is helping to develop artificial intelligence (AI) for the robot. Apptronik announced the partnership in December 2024.
(olb)
