Apptronik's Humanoid Robots Begin Self-Assembly Journey

# humanoid # jabil

Apptronik, an Austin-based company known for its humanoid robots, just dropped some big news on Tuesday. They've teamed up with Jabil, a heavy hitter in American supply chain and manufacturing, for a new pilot program. This announcement comes hot on the heels of their $350 million Series A funding round, which they're using to ramp up production of their Apollo robot. This Jabil deal marks Apptronik's second major pilot. Back in March 2024, they kicked things off with a partnership with Mercedes-Benz, where Apollo was put to work on their production line. While Apptronik told TechCrunch that their collaboration with the carmaker is still going strong, it hasn't moved past the pilot phase just yet. The new deal with Jabil isn't just about testing Apollo on their factory floor. It also means Jabil and Apptronik are joining forces as manufacturing partners. Once Apollo proves it's ready for prime time, Jabil will start cranking out these robots in their own facilities. Imagine that—Apollo robots building more Apollos! In the world of humanoid robots, focusing on manufacturing seems like a no-brainer, but Apptronik isn't quite ready for robots to build robots just yet. They told TechCrunch they're aiming for 2026 to start rolling out commercial units. For now, the Jabil deal involves an unspecified number of Apollo robots tackling "simple, repetitive intralogistics and manufacturing tasks," like sorting and moving parts around. This real-world testing is crucial for scaling up Apollo for full-blown manufacturing. The better Apollo does on Jabil's factory floor, the closer we get to seeing it on a production line that includes, well, itself. Apptronik isn't alone in this race. Other companies like Agility, Boston Dynamics, Figure, and Tesla are also in the game, building humanoid robots for industrial use. Out of these, only Agility has moved beyond the pilot phase with their robots. Sure, competition is fierce in this emerging field, but Apptronik has some solid advantages. They've got hundreds of millions in funding, and they're no newcomers to the scene. As a spinoff from the University of Texas, they've been working on humanoids for a decade, including NASA's Valkyrie robot. Plus, last December, they teamed up with Google DeepMind to beef up their robots' AI. So, yeah, Apptronik's definitely got some strong cards to play.

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