Apptronik raises $520M as VC funding for humanoid robotics explodes 300%

Apptronik, an Austin-based humanoid robotics startup, has raised $520 million in new funding, tripling its valuation from a year ago.

The funding comes amid an AI-driven surge in VC funding for the humanoid robotics segment, with 2025 hitting an all-time high, according to PitchBook data.

B Capital, Google, Mercedes-Benz, John Deere and the Qatar Investment Authority are among the investors in the round, bringing Apptronik’s total VC capital raised to nearly a billion. The round is an extension of the $415 million Series A it raised in February 2025.

Apptronik declined to disclose its latest valuation, but CNBC and Bloomberg have reported it at over $5 billion.

Founded in 2016, the company has benefited from the AI boom, as advancements in computer vision and large language models tailored to robotics have made the segment overall more attractive to investors.

In 2025, humanoid robotic startups raised $6.1 billion across 139 deals, a more than 300% increase in deal value from last year’s $1.5 billion netted across 65 deals, according to PitchBook data.

Apptronik is just the latest in a long line of mega-deals in humanoid robotics. In September, Figure AI raised over $1 billion in Series C funding for its general-purpose humanoid robotic project at a $39 billion valuation, led by Nvidia and others.

China has also taken a strong interest in developing humanoid robotics. Just last month, X Square Robot, a Chinese AI robotics startup, raised $140 million in Series A funding from ByteDance and HongShan.

The segment has also been jolted by the reveal of Tesla’s Optimus line of robots. The automaker has discontinued production of some of its EVs to prioritize manufacturing Optimus, though CEO Elon Musk cautioned during a recent earnings call that the robots are still in early development.