Jeff CardenasJeff Cardenas

UT Austin BBA 2008, MSTC 2013. Co-founded Apptronik 2016 with CTO Nick Paine and advisor Luis Sentis out of UT Austin Human Centered Robotics Lab (NASA JSC heritage). Built 8 humanoids before Apollo. Apollo: 5'8, 160 lbs, lifts 55 lbs, 4hr swappable battery. Commercial pilots with Mercedes-Benz and GXO Logistics. Series A: ~$520M at $5.5B valuation. Calls humanoid robots 'the space race of our time'. Apr 28 2026: assembled executive 'dream team' — hired Daniel Chu (ex-Waymo CPO, ex-23andMe CPO) as Chief Product Officer, plus senior leaders from Boston Dynamics and Amazon, signaling shift from R&D to mass commercialization. Three-phase roadmap: industrial/logistics (2026), then retail/healthcare/hospitality, then eldercare/home. New Apollo variant teased.