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Gravis Robotics startup funding profile

Retrofit autonomy kits (Gravis Rack) that add copilot or full autonomy to mixed-brand excavators and heavy construction machines.

Stage

series a

Status

private

Coverage

full

Overview

Gravis Robotics is a Zurich-based ETH spinout (2022) that sells hardware and software to make existing heavy construction machinery autonomous. On August 17, 2026 it announced a $200 million Series A with SoftBank as sole investor, which the company calls the largest Series A in construction robotics. The Gravis Rack kit is described as OEM-agnostic, with named brands including Caterpillar, Case, John Deere, JCB, Hitachi, Volvo, and others. Modes range from in-cab Copilot to supervised full autonomy. Company claims include deployments on four continents, up to 30% productivity versus peak manual operation, and selection to lead an $8 million UK government-backed CAM Pathfinder with Flannery Plant Hire. Inc. names co-founders CEO Ryan Luke Johns, CTO Dominic Jud, and ETH professor Marco Hutter. A $1 billion post-money valuation appears in Inc./TFN reporting but is not stated on Gravis’s Series A page.

Why Gravis Robotics is interesting

August 17, 2026 Series A: $200M from SoftBank as sole investor — physical AI for earthmoving that feeds data-center and infrastructure buildouts, without forcing contractors to replace fleets.

Product & use cases

Gravis Rack autonomy hardware plus software: in-cab Copilot, full autonomy, and background site sensing on mixed heavy-equipment fleets.

Earthmoving for data centers, energy, housing, and civil infrastructure
Plant-hire fleets offering autonomous machines as a rental SKU
Labor-constrained jobsites needing supervised robotic excavators

Key facts

Series A (Aug 17, 2026): $200M; SoftBank sole investor (company)
Company: largest Series A in construction robotics; mixed-fleet Rack kit
Named OEM coverage includes Caterpillar, John Deere, Volvo, JCB, Hitachi (company)
$1B post-money is press-reported (Inc./TFN), not on Gravis’s own Series A post

Fundraising history

Series A

2026-08 $200M

SoftBank (lead)

Source: https://www.gravisrobotics.com/series-a

Competitive landscape

Edge: OEM-agnostic retrofit plus sim-to-real soil/machine models — contractors are not forced into a single-manufacturer robot fleet.

Construction autonomy is slow because of safety, codes, and fleet inertia. Gravis’s SoftBank round funds deployment. Independent jobsites must still prove the 30% claim.

OEM autonomy programs (Caterpillar, Volvo, etc.) incumbent

Closed or brand-tied autonomy roadmaps.
Bedrock Robotics adjacent

Autonomous construction equipment; see /2026-bedrock-robotics-270m-series-b.
Hadrian adjacent

Automated factories for defense parts — different layer of the physical buildout.

Industries

Robotics Deep Tech

FAQs about Gravis Robotics

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

Gravis sells retrofit kits and software that add AI copilot or autonomy to existing excavators and other heavy machines across multiple manufacturers.

SoftBank invested $200 million as the sole Series A investor (August 17, 2026). SoftBank is not in our fund directory.

Private, Series A as of August 2026.

Press reports a $1 billion valuation. Gravis’s announcement confirms $200 million from SoftBank but does not state the $1B figure.

Gravis’s thesis is kit-on-installed-base so contractors keep mixed OEM fleets and service relationships.

Zurich, Switzerland; ETH Zurich spinout. Company and press also cite U.S. and UK activity.

It is a company claim on the Series A page, not an independent audit in our sources.

Private as of August 2026.

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Last updated: 2026-08-18