Apptronik just inked a pilot deal with manufacturing giant Jabil to deploy its Apollo humanoid robots on factory floors for sorting and transport tasks. If all goes smoothly, Jabil will eventually mass-produce Apollo in its own facilities—meaning the robots will literally help build themselves, with commercial manufacturing targeted for 2026.
Anthropic just open-sourced Model Context Protocol (MCP), a new standard designed to hook any AI model directly into tools, code repos, and enterprise software. Instead of custom connectors for every app, developers can build two-way connections to services like GitHub and Slack in under an hour. The protocol is open to rivals, but whether competitors like OpenAI adopt it remains an open question.
Apptronik just inked a commercial deal with Mercedes-Benz to trial its Apollo bipedal robots on auto assembly lines. Starting at a factory in Hungary, the 160-pound bots will inspect and deliver parts to human workers. The pitch is simple: carmakers can plug humanoids into existing facilities to tackle grueling, repetitive tasks without having to redesign the plant.
