In a fresh boost to the humanoid robotics space, Apptronik, a University of Texas spinout, has announced a major expansion of its Series A funding round. The company said it has re-opened the round to raise a total of $935 million.
The company has not shared its valuation publicly, but a technology publication reported that Apptronik’s post-money valuation is now around $5.3 billion. Apptronik had earlier announced a $350 million Series A round about a year ago. Due to strong investor demand, the round was first expanded to $415 million. It has now added another $520 million.
The latest funding came from existing backers including Google, Mercedes-Benz, and B Capital, along with new investors. The company clarified that this is not a case of selling larger stakes at the same price. According to Apptronik, each extension of the Series A saw investors paying higher prices for shares. Data from PitchBook suggests the company is now valued at nearly 3 times its initial Series A valuation of about $1.75 billion.
Despite the size of the raise, Apptronik has chosen not to label the round as a Series B. A source close to the company said it is still in an early stage of development and was not actively seeking funding, but responding to strong inbound interest.
Raising an additional $520 million within a year is notable, especially in a capital-intensive field like bipedal robotics. Rival Figure AI, founded in 2022, has raised nearly $2 billion to date and announced an additional $1 billion round last fall.
Apptronik has drawn attention due to partnerships with Google DeepMind, GXO, and Mercedes-Benz. These collaborations focus on embodied AI, which refers to robots that can understand their environment and act through reasoning rather than fixed programming. The company says its robots are being designed for tasks such as unloading trailers, picking warehouse inventory, and maintaining machinery.
Although described as early-stage, Apptronik is not a “Johnny-come-lately” in humanoid robotics. Its work dates back to 2013, when researchers from the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas participated in the NASA-DARPA Robotics Challenge with a robot called Valkyrie. NASA has continued its partnership as Apptronik developed its own humanoid robot, Apollo.
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