Gravis Robotics, a spinout from Swiss university ETH Zurich, has secured a $200 million Series A funding round entirely from SoftBank. The company claims this is the largest-ever Series A investment in the construction robotics sector and values the startup at $1 billion post-money. The new capital will be used to scale the company's technology globally, expand its engineering team, and increase deployments on major infrastructure projects.
Founded in 2022, Gravis Robotics develops hardware and software kits that retrofit existing heavy construction machinery, like excavators, to operate autonomously. The company's "Gravis Rack" system is designed to address the unique challenges of construction sites, where machines must interact with and reshape unpredictable terrain. Gravis aims to boost productivity and safety on job sites amid a shortage of skilled operators.