News & Updates
The latest news and updates from companies in the WLTH portfolio.
Google DeepMind Enters Strategic Alliance with Apptronik
Google DeepMind has formed a strategic relationship with Apptronik, a startup in AI-powered humanoid robotics, to take a huge step forward in the future of robotics. Apptronik, best known for its humanoid robot Apollo, has built a solid reputation for creating robots that mimic human gestures and perform jobs with precision and reliability. Founded in 2016 at the University of Texas at Austin's Human-Centered Robotics Lab, Apptronik has established itself as a pioneer in humanoid robotics. The company has spent nearly a decade honing its expertise in human-centered design and engineering hardware that prioritizes safety and reliability. Over the years, Apptronik has developed and tested 15 different robots, including NASA's Valkyrie Robot. Also Read: Giant Search Engine Unveils Next-Gen AI Model A Shared Vision for the Future This collaboration intends to bring together Google's powerful artificial intelligence capabilities with Apptronik's cutting-edge technology and embodied intelligence. They hope to construct humanoid robots that can adapt to changing circumstances, do difficult tasks, and interact with humans more intuitively. In a press release issued by Apptronik, Jeff Cardenas, CEO and co-founder of Apptronik, said, "We're building a future where humanoid robots address urgent global challenges. By combining Apptronik's robotics platform with the Google DeepMind team's unparalleled AI expertise, we're creating intelligent, versatile, and safe robots that will transform industries and improve lives. United by a shared commitment to excellence, our two companies are poised to redefine the future of humanoid robotics." Apollo, a humanoid robot designed for physically demanding tasks. Apollo stands 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds, and is built to work safely in industrial environments alongside humans. Its sleek and approachable design strikes a balance between complexity and functionality, earning widespread praise from customers and industry experts. Google's AI technologies, including natural language processing, computer vision, and machine learning, are being integrated into Apptronik's robots to create machines capable of understanding complex instructions, recognizing human emotions, and continuously learning from their interactions, offering a competitive advantage. Implications for Industry and Society This collaboration is expected to revolutionize industries that rely on repetitive or physically demanding tasks. For example, in logistics, humanoid robots could streamline operations, minimize errors, and reduce workplace injuries. In healthcare, they could provide personalized assistance to patients, offering both practical help and emotional support. By developing adaptable robots that can carry out a variety of tasks, Google and Apptronik hope to set the standard for providing creative solutions to these urgent problems. This collaboration also tackles important global issues like labor shortages and the need to support an aging population. Commitment to Responsible Innovation Both companies have emphasized their dedication to ethical considerations in robotics and AI. Google and Apptronik are committed to prioritizing safety, transparency, and privacy in their developments. Their humanoid robots are designed to enhance human life rather than replace it, ensuring a positive and responsible impact on society.
Three Humanoid Robotics ETFs Built for the Tesla Optimus and Figure AI Era Most Investors Have Never Heard Of
Humanoid robotics moved from concept videos to factory floors over the past 18 months, and three ETFs now offer materially different ways to play it: Themes Humanoid Robotics ETF (NASDAQ:BOTT), ROBO Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF (NYSEARCA:ROBO), and the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (NASDAQ:BOTZ). Each captures the theme from a different angle, and only one is a true pure-play on the Tesla Optimus and Figure AI commercialization curve. BOTT is the newest and narrowest, launched in 2024 as the only pure-play humanoid ETF. ROBO has been the legacy industrial robotics fund since 2013. BOTZ sits in between, anchored by automation giants but quietly accumulating positions in the Korean and Chinese humanoid names that most U.S. investors have never opened a brokerage tab for. The humanoid commercialization curve The investable thesis stopped being speculative when humanoid units started showing up on payrolls. Tesla is ramping Optimus production, Figure is rolling out Figure 02 in commercial deployments, and Apptronik units are working alongside humans in Mercedes plants. The picks-and-shovels layer, AI chips, vision sensors, actuators, and industrial automation backbones, is already generating revenue regardless of whether any single humanoid platform wins. That split matters for ETF selection. A fund concentrated on the platform builders captures the upside if humanoids scale; a fund anchored in the enablers captures revenue today whether Optimus ships at 10,000 units or 1 million. The three funds below sit at different points on that spectrum. BOTT: the only pure-play in the category BOTT exists for one reason: there was no clean way to buy the humanoid theme as a single ticker until Themes ETFs launched it. The fund holds Tesla, Figure AI suppliers, and Boston Dynamics-adjacent names, which is the actual composition investors want when they search for "humanoid robotics ETF" and instead find that older robotics funds have a 10% weighting in chip equipment makers. The performance tells the story of how concentrated this exposure really is. BOTT is up roughly 35% year-to-date and has more than doubled over the past year, with shares trading around $56. That is the kind of return profile that comes from owning a small basket of names tied directly to a single narrative, not a diversified portfolio. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 stocks and Themes Humanoid Robotics ETF wasn't one of them. Get them here FREE. The tradeoff is structural. BOTT is small, new, and concentrated. Liquidity is thinner than the legacy robotics funds, and the holdings overlap heavily with names that have already run hard on Optimus and Figure milestones. A delay in commercial humanoid deployment, or a single bad quarter from Tesla, would land harder here than in any other fund in the category. Investors choosing BOTT are buying the thesis in its purest form, which means accepting that the fund will trade like a leveraged bet on humanoid milestones.
