Apptronik Accelerates Commercialization of Humanoid Robots with Key Executive Hires from Top Tech Giants
Former Waymo, Boston Dynamics, and Amazon Leaders Join Apptronik;
Daniel Chu appointed as Chief Product Officer, alongside senior leaders across software, services, marketing, and people operations
AUSTIN, Texas, April 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AI-powered robotics company Apptronik today announced a series of strategic executive hires to accelerate its next phase of growth and commercialization. The new leadership team brings together talent from some of the world’s most advanced technology organizations, including Waymo, Boston Dynamics, and Amazon. This expansion follows Apptronik’s landmark $935M Series A funding round and comes as the company prepares to unveil its highly anticipated new humanoid robot.
Daniel Chu Joins as Chief Product Officer
Daniel Chu joins Apptronik as Chief Product Officer, bringing more than two decades of experience building and scaling transformative technology products, at the intersection of human need and machine intelligence.
Chu’s career has uniquely prepared him to lead Apptronik’s long-term product trajectory as the company prepares to bring general-purpose robots first into commercial applications, and eventually into healthcare and the home. At Waymo, Chu served as Chief Product Officer and played a foundational role in building the company’s product organization, helping lead the launch of the world’s first fully autonomous ride-hailing service. This experience in navigating the safety and reliability of autonomous machines is critical as Apptronik scales its humanoid robot platform. Most recently, as Chief Product Officer at 23andMe, Chu focused on the frontiers of personalized healthcare, overseeing the integration of complex data into life-changing consumer health insights. This healthcare background is pivotal to Apptronik’s North Star vision: assistive care and eldercare, where robots will eventually provide the support necessary to help an aging population live with dignity and independence.
"Throughout my career I've been drawn to the 'impossible' problems — the ones that, when solved, fundamentally change how we live for the better,” said Chu. “What brought me to Apptronik is a team with deep robotics expertise, real-world progress, and an unwavering commitment to building robots that serve humanity. I'm here to help take that mission to the world."
Building a World-Class Leadership Team
In addition to Chu, Apptronik has added several key executives to its leadership bench:
- Kevin Garell, SVP of Services & Support – Garell previously led Global Services & Support at Boston Dynamics, and is an expert in scaling the infrastructure required to support robots in the field. He played a critical role in transitioning Boston Dynamics from an R&D focus to a full-scale commercial operation.
- Chirag Shah, VP of Software – In his previous role as a software executive at Amazon for Kindle and Alexa+, Shah led global teams in developing multimodal AI-powered experiences for Kindle, Scribe, and Echo devices. He brings deep expertise in embedded systems and AI-driven software platforms that bridge the gap between digital intelligence and physical interaction.
- Dave Perry, VP of Marketing – An Emmy award-winning digital leader and former Paramount+ and Amazon executive, Perry is known for building globally recognized brands. He has a proven track record of developing innovative world-building consumer campaigns for massive franchises, including Star Trek and Halo.
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Justin Birtz, VP of People Operations – A seasoned people and culture leader who has led people operations at Cellino, a pioneer in personalized regenerative medicine, and iconic robotics company iRobot, Birtz brings specialized experience in scaling high-performance teams within the world’s leading robotics and healthcare tech organizations.
Accelerating the Future of Humanoid Robotics
These appointments signal Apptronik’s shift toward mass-market commercialization. By combining experts in autonomy, consumer AI, and global service infrastructure, Apptronik is positioned to deliver reliable, production-ready robotic systems that can operate seamlessly alongside humans.
“We are at a defining moment in robotics where the technology has finally met the magnitude of the mission,” said Jeff Cardenas, CEO and Co-Founder of Apptronik. “Bringing Daniel Chu on board is an essential step in that journey. His unique experience scaling both world-class autonomy and human-centric health platforms is exactly what we need to build the next generations of AI-powered robots and work towards our ‘North Star’ of assistive care and eldercare. Our expanded leadership team represents the best minds from the companies that defined the last decade of technology, and they’ve joined Apptronik to define the next one. We have the talent, the technology, and the momentum to bring AI-powered humanoid robots to the world at scale.”
About Apptronik
Apptronik is a human-centered robotics company developing AI-powered robots to support humanity in every facet of life. Our humanoid robot, Apollo, is designed to collaborate thoughtfully with humans—initially in critical industries such as manufacturing and logistics, with future applications in healthcare, the home, and beyond. Apollo is the culmination of nearly a decade of development, drawing on Apptronik’s extensive work on 15 previous robots, including NASA’s Valkyrie robot. Apptronik started out of the Human Centered Robotics Lab at the University of Texas at Austin and has 350 employees. Learn more at apptronik.com.
Media Contact
Liz Clinkenbeard
press@apptronik.com
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