Google (GOOG) is actively positioning itself as a leader in the AI robotics software platform space, leveraging partnerships with hardware companies like Apptronik for humanoid robots. Given the existential threat to its search business from chatbots, Google has a strong motive to succeed in robotics, potentially making an acquisition of Apptronik a strategic move as it seeks to avoid missing this critical technological wave. Google's significant advantages in data scale and collection further strengthen its position in this race.