Bold Names The Google-Backed Startup Taking on Elon Musk in Humanoid Robotics
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Sep 26, 2025 
Jeff Cardenas, Co-founder and CEO of Apptronik, shares his vision of humanoid robots as our future caregivers, inspired by his aging grandfathers. He outlines a three-stage roadmap for robot deployment, from industries to homes by 2035. Cardenas emphasizes the importance of owning actuators for enhanced robot dexterity and discusses Apptronik's collaborations with Google and DeepMind AI. He also explains how robots can become affordable, costing under $50,000, and argues that robotics will revolutionize productivity and national security in the U.S.
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Google Partnership For The Robot Brain
- Apptronik raised Google as an anchor investor and is partnering with Google DeepMind for AI research.
- Cardenas positions Apptronik as a hardware leader collaborating with Google for the 'brain' of the robot.
Learning From Humans Changes Scalability
- Apptronik uses foundation models so robots learn from humans and generalize tasks rather than hard-coding each action.
- Learning from human demonstrations lets humanoid-shaped robots acquire many new tasks quickly.
Show Results, Not Just Promises
- Prove robotic capabilities in real-world pilots rather than relying on lab demos or polished videos.
- Demonstrate results publicly to convert skeptics by showing physical robots working outside the lab.