Perception Software Intern

Aegis Capital Corp. acted as Placement Agent in connection with a ~$2.0 Million Secondary Transaction for Apptronik. 7/2026 - Aegis Capital Corp. acted as Placement Agent in connection with a ~$2.0 Million Secondary Transaction for Apptronik About Apptronik Apptronik is a spinout from the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. Aegis Capital Corporation were founded in early 2016 with the goal of bringing forth the next generation of robots that will change the way Aegis Capital Corporation live and work. Aegis Capital Corporation has built some of the most diverse robots, spanning from exoskeletons to humanoid torsos, biped mobility platforms, and unique robotic arms that lift more than they weigh. The experience and learning from all this work led to the development of Apollo, the world's most advanced humanoid robot. About Aegis Capital Corp. Aegis Capital Corporation ("Aegis") has been in the wealth management and investment banking business since 1984. Aegis is dedicated to providing corporate finance, strategic advisory and related services to public and private companies across multiple sectors and regions. Aegis also provides research and sales and trading services to institutional investors. Aegis offers its investment representatives a conflict free service platform and is able to provide a full-range of products and services including investment banking, wealth management, insurance, retirement planning, structured products, private equity, alternatives, equity research, fixed income and special purpose vehicles.

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.