Google-backed robotics startup Apptronik on Tuesday unveiled a new training facility designed to accelerate the development of humanoid robots, betting that large-scale real-world data collection will help move the technology from experimental pilots into commercial use.
The Austin-based company said the nearly 90,000-square-foot site, known as Robot Park, was developed in collaboration with Google DeepMind and will serve as a dedicated environment where fleets of humanoid robots continuously perform practical tasks while generating data to improve artificial intelligence models.
The facility is intended to simulate real industrial environments, allowing robots to carry out logistics, manufacturing and retail operations that provide the extensive training data needed to refine their decision-making and physical capabilities.
Alongside the new facility, Apptronik introduced Apollo 2, the latest version of its humanoid robot platform. The robot is available in both bipedal and wheeled configurations and has already spent more than a year operating as the company’s primary data collection platform.
Data gathered at Robot Park will be used to train Gemini Robotics, Google DeepMind’s robotics-focused AI model, under the companies’ ongoing research partnership.
Chief Executive Jeff Cardenas described the facility as a key component of Apptronik’s long-term strategy to commercialize humanoid robotics.
“We have a factory that produces robots, and we also have a factory that produces data,” Cardenas said. “Robot Park is the engine for building production-grade AI models.”
Cardenas said Apptronik has manufactured “hundreds” of Apollo 2 robots but declined to disclose how many have already been deployed with customers or research partners.
The company expects to continue testing the robots through pilot programs during the remainder of this year before expanding into broader commercial deployments.
“We’ll continue to pilot through this year, and then we’ll start to see real production versions in 2027 and beyond,” Cardenas said.
Apptronik is among a growing group of robotics companies seeking to commercialize humanoid machines capable of performing repetitive physical work across multiple industries, including manufacturing, warehousing and retail.
The company strengthened its financial position earlier this year by raising $520 million in a funding round announced in February, a deal that valued Apptronik at approximately $5 billion.
As competition intensifies in the rapidly evolving humanoid robotics sector, companies are increasingly emphasizing access to real-world operational data as a critical advantage in developing AI systems capable of safely and reliably working alongside humans.
