The archive · Hardware & Devices · Product decision · 2022–2026
Gravis Robotics raises $200M SoftBank Series A to retrofit excavators with autonomous AI
Zurich's Gravis Robotics retrofits excavators and other construction machinery with AI; an ETH spin-off, it raised a $200M SoftBank Series A at $1B valuation.
Gravis Robotics
What the business is
Gravis Robotics bolts sensors and AI software onto conventional excavators, loaders and other construction machinery so they can dig, level and load autonomously or with operator assistance.
How it started
Gravis Robotics spun out of ETH Zurich's Robotic Systems Lab in 2022, after years of research that included an autonomous excavator building a 65-metre dry-stone wall in 2023. The founders bet that construction's operator shortage would make retrofit autonomy the fastest path to market, attacking the messy, unstructured jobsites that break traditional factory automation.
What happened
The system is already running on dozens of commercial construction sites across Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia, on machines from Caterpillar, John Deere, Volvo, Hitachi and JCB, with a roughly 80-person team. In August 2026 SoftBank led a $200M Series A that valued the company at $1B, making it ETH Zurich's fifth spin-off unicorn and its first in robotics.
How it ended up
Still live and scaling: with SoftBank's $200M, Gravis plans to expand its team, grow internationally and deploy its retrofit autonomy on more machines and construction sites.
Background
Gravis Robotics, a Zurich company spun out of ETH Zurich's Robotic Systems Lab in 2022, bets that construction's operator shortage can be solved with software. It retrofits conventional excavators, loaders and other machinery with sensors and AI so they can dig, level and load autonomously, or assist operators who stay in the cab.
The company's Gravis Copilot keeps operators in the cab with real-time 3D guidance and hazard detection, while a bolt-on rack and core AI software can also run machines remotely or fully autonomously. The system already runs on dozens of commercial construction sites across Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia, on machines from Caterpillar, John Deere, Volvo, Hitachi and JCB, and is built for small and mid-sized contractors.
In August 2026 SoftBank led a $200M Series A that valued the company at $1B, making it ETH's fifth spin-off unicorn and its first in robotics. The roughly 80-person company plans to use the capital to expand its team, grow internationally and deploy the technology on more sites and machines.
What has to be true
- Retrofitting fleets contractors already own removes the biggest objection to autonomous construction machinery: replacing expensive equipment.
- The operator shortage is structural, so the value of one operator supervising several largely autonomous machines grows over time.
- ETH's 65-metre dry-stone wall demonstration proved the technology in the messy outdoor conditions that break factory automation.
- SoftBank's physical AI thesis gave Gravis a patient, unusually large check for a construction-tech Series A.
What can be applied
Retrofit beats replace when the market is full of machines people already own: Gravis turned ETH robotics research into a bolt-on system, and SoftBank bet $200M on existing fleets.
Aftermath
As of August 17, 2026, Gravis Robotics has closed a $200M Series A led by SoftBank at a reported $1B valuation, becoming ETH Zurich's fifth spin-off unicorn and its first in robotics. The roughly 80-person company is already deployed on dozens of commercial sites in Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia, and plans to use the capital to expand its team, grow internationally and deploy its retrofit autonomy on more machines and sites.
Sources
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe what you are building, and see who is betting on the same thing.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card