Although enthusiasm for humanoid robots is spreading, skepticism about human-shaped designs is growing among some Silicon Valley investors. They argue that robots tailored to specific tasks are more efficient in industrial settings and that humanoids can be more about demonstrations than practicality. Funding is moving to wheeled general-purpose robots and industrial automation. Supporters counter that successful humanoids could target manufacturing, logistics, services and homes, and investment in the sector is rising sharply.

U.S. humanoid robotics startup Apptronik has unveiled a large training facility called Robot Park, aiming to accelerate commercial use of humanoids by collecting large volumes of real-world data. The 90,000-square-foot site in Austin, Texas, trains its Apollo robot through repeated tasks under teleoperation, operating year-round. CEO Jeff Cardenas (제프 카르데나스) called it a data factory for robot learning. The company has raised about $1 billion and is developing Apollo3.