Gravis Robotics raises $200M from SoftBank to retrofit heavy equipment for autonomy
Announced · Published · By Contractor AI Shop
Zurich-based Gravis Robotics, which retrofits excavators and other heavy machines with sensors and AI for assisted or autonomous work, announced a $200 million Series A from SoftBank. Sifted reported the round values the company at $1 billion. Gravis calls it the largest Series A in construction robotics.
Key facts
- Gravis announced on August 17, 2026 that SoftBank is investing $200 million in its Series A. Gravis calls it the largest Series A in construction robotics history, which is the company's own claim. Gravis Robotics
- Sifted reported the round gives Gravis a $1 billion valuation. Sifted
- Construction Dive reported Gravis offers Gravis Copilot for AI-assisted manual control and that its retrofit works on Caterpillar, Hitachi, Volvo and John Deere machines, per the company. Construction Dive
- Gravis's CEO told Construction Dive its offerings are built with small and mid-sized contractors in mind and priced competitively with premium machine control. Construction Dive
Our take: what it means for contractors
For earthwork and site contractors, the near-term product is operator assistance on machines you already own, not crewless jobsites. If you're pricing premium machine control anyway, ask Gravis for a quote and a demo on your own fleet. Get safety and insurance answers in writing before running anything unattended.
What we don't know yet
- Actual pricing
- US availability and dealer support
- How insurers and OSHA treat remotely supervised machines
Sources
- Gravis Robotics · Reshaping the Physical World: Gravis Robotics Raises $200M for Construction Autonomy · 2026-08-17 · Primary
- Sifted · Gravis Robotics hits $1bn valuation with $200m investment from SoftBank · 2026-08-17 · Secondary
- Construction Dive · Autonomous equipment tech firm Gravis Robotics raises $200M · 2026-08-18 · Secondary