Built Robotics, the industry leader in construction automation, has announced the completion of a $64 million Series C led by Tiger Global, bringing the company’s total funding to $112 million.
Existing investors such as NEA, Founders Fund, Fifth Wall, and Building Ventures have also participated in the round.
“As a leader in autonomous construction technology, Built’s focus on easy-to-install robotic upgrades for heavy equipment is generating significant demand,” said Griffin Schroeder, Partner at Tiger Global.
“We are excited to partner with them as their autonomous trenching solution helps transform the construction of solar farms, oil & gas projects, and other large and critical infrastructure projects around the world.”
The Exosystem upgrade kit from Built can be installed and calibrated on an excavator in less than a day.
Contractors can rent Exosystems as standalone units to install on their fleet of equipment or lease pre-upgraded excavators directly from Built.
Contractors pay an hourly fee to license the Exosystem’s autonomous software, and depending on usage, they can save up to 20% or more compared to traditional methods.
Installation, training, and 24/7 support are all included, and long-term rentals are eligible for discounts.
“We’ve been neck-deep in R&D for the past few years, and it’s paid off. Our rental fleet is fully booked through 2023, and orders continue to come in “Noah Ready-Campbell, CEO of Built Robotics, stated “The Series C will provide us with the funds we need to ramp up production and get our robots into the hands of more contractors. Customers are already requesting backfill, compaction, material handling, truck loading, and other services in addition to autonomous trenching.”
Built’s investment by Tiger Global comes at a time when the industry is widely recognizing Built’s leadership in construction autonomy.
The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE), a 400,000-member union representing equipment operators in the United States and Canada, has entered into a first-of-its-kind training collaboration with Built Robotics.
“The IUOE prides itself on having the best, most qualified, and safest operators and our goal is to ensure that the best operators know how to use the best tools, and robots are certainly one of the tools of the future,” said Russ Burns, retired General Vice President of the IUOE and consultant to the IUOE.
Furthermore, Built’s Vice President, Gaurav Kikani, was recently appointed as a voting member on Technical Committee 127, the committee responsible for developing safety standards for autonomous earthmoving machinery.
