Autonomous Construction Vehicle Startup Bedrock Hits $4.1B Valuation

A proptech startup that makes the technology to turn excavators and other heavy-duty construction machines into autonomous vehicles reached a $4.1B valuation with its latest funding round. 

Courtesy of Bedrock Robotics Inc. The view from the cab of a construction vehicle using Bedrock Robotics’ technology

Bedrock Robotics Inc. raised $600M in its Series C fundraise, which was co-led by CapitalG and Emergence Capital. The 2-year-old company’s new valuation is a more than 134% increase from its last funding round in February, when Bedrock raised $270M to be valued at $1.75B. 

“This funding allows us to expand deployments, strengthen the field operations behind every machine, and work with more partners as they integrate intelligent systems into everyday work,” Bedrock CEO Boris Sofman said in a statement. “The opportunity is to help the industry’s experienced crews safely take on more projects, deliver with greater consistency, and quickly deliver more of the infrastructure this country needs.”

Bedrock makes sensors that automate construction vehicles so they can clear sites without human operators. The company aims to address a shortage of construction equipment operators and help contractors accelerate project timelines with vehicles capable of running around the clock. 

The latest funding round comes after Bedrock showed the commercial viability of its technology when it had completely autonomous excavators begin doing paid work on live commercial jobsites in August. 

The fundraise attracted new investors US Innovative Technology Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners and Temasek, as well as firms such as 8VC, Valor Equity Partners, Perry Creek Capital and Nvidia that had previously invested.

The latest round brings Bedrock’s total funding to nearly $1B.

Bedrock has shown it has the technical depth, operational discipline and contractor partnerships to help the construction industry, CapitalG general partner Derek Zanutto said in a statement.

“Construction sits at the foundation of nearly every major economic and industrial ambition in the United States,” Zanutto said. “We cannot afford to take decades developing advanced robotics for this critical industry.”

Bedrock has recently expanded its customer base beyond the West and Central South regions through contracts with companies such as Wagner Construction in Minnesota, Smith Trucking Co. in Florida, B&S Site Development in Virginia and Native Excavating in Colorado.

However, Bedrock isn’t the only company working to automate industrial vehicles.

Autonomous Solutions Inc. announced a joint venture with SoftBank Group Corp. in September to develop and commercialize autonomous construction equipment for large infrastructure projects. SoftBank is also investing $225M in ASI, whose products help construction firms deploy autonomous vehicles for tasks like on-site excavation and haulage.

Six construction tech companies also drew significant investor interest this summer, raising $234M in recent funding rounds, Construction Dive reported.

Source: www.bisnow.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.