GXO Logistics and Apptronik announced on November 12, 2026, that they have signed a letter of intent to expand their humanoid robotics partnership. The companies are targeting a potential global rollout of up to 1,000 Apollo robots over four years, subject to the outcome of operational trials.
The expanded program will begin in 2027, with an initial North American deployment envisaged for late that year. The partners expect to establish a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) arrangement for commercial use, rather than relying solely on outright hardware purchases.
Warehouse trials
The next phase will assess Apollo in active distribution facilities. Proposed applications span item picking, moving cartons and containers, preparing packages and sorting inventory. GXO and Apptronik will assess each application against jointly established measures of productivity, safety and operational performance, including integration with existing warehouse automation and employees.
The partnership dates to 2024, when the companies began exploring warehouse applications for Apollo. According to their announcement, a U.S. pilot earlier in 2026 demonstrated autonomous picking of small consumer products. They have also evaluated and collected data on more than 50 logistics tasks at Apptronik’s Robot Park training facility.
Commercial deployment remains conditional
The announcement does not establish a firm purchase order for 1,000 robots. The proposed fleet size is a maximum rollout target, contingent on meeting the agreed operational requirements. Pricing, minimum committed volumes and specific deployment sites were not disclosed.
GXO has separately pursued commercial humanoid deployments with Agility Robotics. In June 2024, it announced a multiyear RaaS agreement for Digit robots at a facility serving SPANX, following an earlier pilot. That agreement is distinct from the newly announced Apptronik program.
Sources: GXO
