Apptronik debuts new Apollo 2 humanoid, launches 90,000-square-foot 'Robot Park' Image: Apptronik Jul 2, 2026 eWeek content and product recommendations are editorially independent. eWEEK may make money when you click on links to its partners. Learn More Apptronik wants to solve one of robotics' biggest bottlenecks: collecting enough real-world experience to make humanoid robots genuinely useful. The Austin startup has opened a roughly 90,000-square-foot Robot Park where fleets of humanoid robots perform industrial work while continuously generating data used to train AI models. The company says the facility serves as a production-scale learning environment rather than a traditional research lab. The announcement reflects a broader shift across the robotics industry. Companies are increasingly competing not just on robot hardware, but on who can gather the most valuable real-world data to improve AI systems. Apollo 2 steps into the spotlight. Alongside the facility, Apptronik unveiled Apollo 2, its latest humanoid robot platform. It comes in two configurations, bipedal and wheeled, designed to handle different operational needs. The wheeled version targets industrial settings where stability and efficiency matter most, while the bipedal version is built for environments closer to human spaces, where walking ability and adaptability are required. According to Apptronik, Apollo 2 has been operating as a data-collection workhorse for over a year already. The system is now deployed across Robot Park sites and at partner and customer facilities to generate training data for future models. A key pillar of Apptronik's strategy is its partnership with Google DeepMind. Data gathered from Apollo 2 is used to advance Gemini Robotics, DeepMind's foundational AI models for robotics. Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas described the system as a feedback loop between real-world operations and AI training. The company has built what Cardenas called "a factory that produces robots, we also have a factory that produces data," according to Reuters. He added that Robot Park serves as the engine behind production-grade AI development, linking physical robots directly to model training at scale. Robots train for real work. The robotics industry has long struggled with a core problem: robots can perform impressive demos but often fail in real workplaces. Apptronik's approach aims to close that gap by prioritizing continuous exposure to real environments - logistics, manufacturing, and retail operations - rather than controlled lab demonstrations. If successful, this model could shorten the gap between prototype robots and commercially useful machines that actually perform repeatable work at scale. What Apptronik is really building. At its core, Apptronik is not just building robots; it is building a data pipeline for embodied AI. Robot Park functions like a manufacturing line, but instead of producing hardware, it produces training data. That data is then used to refine AI models that control future generations of robots. The partnership with Google DeepMind is especially significant. If Gemini Robotics becomes a widely used foundation model, Apptronik could benefit from early access and integration, but it also raises a long-term question: whether the intelligence it helps train becomes broadly shared across competitors. The company is also clearly separating roles between its current and future hardware. Apollo 2 is positioned as a workhorse for data collection, while a future system, Apollo 3, is expected to be the first fully commercial, scaled product. Also read: Japan wants 10 million AI-powered robots operating by 2040 as it expands robotics across manufacturing, caregiving, infrastructure, and disaster response. Aminu Abdullahi is a B2C and B2B technology and finance writer with more than six years of experience covering enterprise IT, cybersecurity, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, fintech, business software, and emerging technologies. His work has appeared in publications including TechRepublic, eWEEK, Channel Insider, Geekflare, Enterprise Networking Planet, eSecurity Planet, CIO Insight, and Webopedia. With a technical background in computer science, he specializes in translating complex technology topics into clear, accessible content for business leaders and decision-makers.

Earlier, Google announced the transfer of its robotics software project "Intrinsic" to the core of the company. Google is redrawing its strategy. Google became a major force in the smartphone world by developing the Android operating system and forming partnerships with phone manufacturers who needed an alternative to compete with Apple's iPhone. Today, it appears that the search giant is following a similar plan to enter the field of robotics. Earlier, Google announced the transfer of its robotics software project "Intrinsic" to the core of the company. Just as Android works on phones and tablets from companies like Samsung, Motorola, Xiaomi, and others, Intrinsic aims to play a similar role in robotics systems, although its partner companies are less well-known, such as FANUC, Universal Robots, and KUKA, which primarily focus on industrial robots. Among potential competitors are Amazon and Tesla. McKinsey & Company expects the market size for multi-purpose robots to reach $370 billion by 2040, opening a significant opportunity for Google as artificial intelligence transitions from the digital world, such as chatbots, image generation, and agents, to the physical world. The Intrinsic website indicates that it is developing an operating system that allows manufacturers to "focus on solving the problem rather than being preoccupied with technical details." As with Android, developers can leverage ready-made capabilities to develop applications more efficiently. In a previous interview, Wendy Tan White, CEO of Intrinsic, stated that the goal is to make the technology "accessible to everyone," regardless of the type of hardware or AI model used. With Intrinsic joining Google, it will become closer to Google's AI models, infrastructure, and cloud computing tools, while continuing as an independent entity within Google under its current leadership. Complex History Google has a complex history in robotics. In 2013, parent company Alphabet acquired Boston Dynamics, known for its mobile robots, and Japanese company Schaft, specializing in humanoid robots, before selling Boston Dynamics and Schaft in 2017 to SoftBank. However, the recent surge in AI has changed the landscape. In mid-2025, Google unveiled two new models: Gemini Robotics and Gemini Robotics-ER, enabling generative AI to be integrated into robot control commands. It also announced a partnership with Apptronik to develop a new generation of humanoid robots. Finally, Google collaborated with Boston Dynamics to integrate Gemini into the Atlas robot tailored for manufacturing environments. Intrinsic is currently working with Foxconn to deploy AI-powered robots in its U.S. factories for assembling electronics.