Apptronik is betting the future of industrial automation goes way beyond humanoid robots. The Austin company today announced Elevate Robotics, a new subsidiary focused on building "superhuman" machines that ditch the human form factor entirely.
While Apptronik has spent years perfecting Apollo—its flagship humanoid for warehouses and factories—the company is now hedging that some industrial tasks need something bigger, faster, and stronger than anything walking on two legs.
Key Points
- New subsidiary will develop robots "beyond the limits of the human form" with superhuman capabilities
- Plus One Robotics co-founder Paul Hvass will lead Elevate as CEO
- Comes just months after Apptronik raised $403 million for its Apollo humanoid robot
Elevate will be led by Paul Hvass, previously co-founder at Plus One Robotics—a telling choice since Plus One specializes in AI vision systems that make existing industrial robots smarter. "We founded Apptronik to build general purpose robots that empower humans," said CEO Jeff Cardenas. "Elevate shares Apptronik's core, human-centered DNA and vision of building robots to help humanity, and they're applying novel technology to tackle heavy-duty tasks in various sectors."
Humans are toolmakers. We build tools to help us do more with less.
— Apptronik (@Apptronik) June 24, 2025
We have built Apollo to dramatically improve the way we live and work.
But Apollo is not the only groundbreaking creation born from our labs. Our teams have been quietly building a new kind of machine - a… pic.twitter.com/k0duWG6Ytl
What "superhuman" actually looks like remains vague. Elevate's bare-bones website promises robots that will "go bigger, faster, and stronger using novel technologies born from humanoid development," but offers zero specifics.
The move makes strategic sense. Apptronik just closed a massive $403 million Series A round, giving it the cash to explore multiple directions. While Apollo targets humanoid applications, Elevate can tackle industrial challenges where the human form might actually be a limitation.
Apptronik has built 15 different robotic systems over the past decade, including NASA's Valkyrie robot. The Elevate spinoff represents a return to those research roots—exploring what robots can do when you're not constrained by making them look like us.