In March 2025, Google DeepMind unveiled two advanced artificial intelligence models—Gemini Robotics and Gemini Robotics-ER—designed to enhance robotic capabilities in real-world applications. These models integrate vision, language, and action, enabling robots to perform complex tasks with greater adaptability and precision. Concurrently, Texas-based robotics company Apptronik secured $350 million in funding to scale the production of its humanoid robot, Apollo, marking a significant advancement in AI-powered humanoid robotics.

The Gemini Robotics model is an advanced vision-language-action system that allows robots to execute smooth and reactive movements, handling a wide range of complex manipulation tasks. It is robust to variations in object types and positions, capable of operating in unseen environments, and can follow diverse, open-vocabulary instructions. Gemini Robotics-ER extends these capabilities by enhancing spatial and temporal understanding, providing robots with advanced embodied reasoning abilities such as object detection, pointing, grasp prediction, trajectory reasoning, and multi-view correspondence.

Apptronik's humanoid robot, Apollo, stands 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. Designed to perform physically demanding tasks, Apollo is intended to operate safely in industrial spaces alongside humans. The robot's design balances complexity and functionality, making it suitable for applications in manufacturing and logistics.

In December 2024, Apptronik announced a strategic partnership with Google DeepMind's robotics team. This collaboration aims to combine Apptronik's robotics platform with Google DeepMind's AI expertise to develop intelligent, versatile, and safe humanoid robots capable of operating in dynamic environments. Jeff Cardenas, CEO of Apptronik, stated, "By combining Apptronik’s cutting-edge robotics platform with the Google DeepMind robotics team’s unparalleled AI expertise, we’re creating intelligent, versatile and safe robots that will transform industries and improve lives."

In February 2025, Apptronik secured $350 million in funding to scale the production of its AI-powered humanoid robots. The funding round was led by B Capital and Capital Factory, with significant participation from Alphabet's Google. This investment aims to deploy Apollo in warehouses and manufacturing plants for supply chain-related tasks, positioning Apptronik to compete with other companies developing human-like robots, such as Tesla and Figure AI.

The introduction of advanced AI models like Gemini Robotics and the development of humanoid robots such as Apollo signify a significant step toward creating autonomous AI-controlled robots capable of adapting to diverse environments and tasks. These advancements have the potential to transform various industries by automating complex tasks, improving efficiency, and addressing labor shortages.

However, the integration of AI into physical systems also raises concerns about safety, job displacement, and ethical considerations. To address these issues, Google emphasizes a multi-layered approach to safety, incorporating content protections, industry-standard rules, and a governing "constitutional AI" to regulate behavior.

These developments mark a pivotal moment in the field of robotics, highlighting the rapid advancements in AI and their potential to revolutionize the way humans interact with machines in the physical world.