Swiss startup Gravis Robotics has raised $200 million in a Series A funding round from SoftBank, bringing the company’s post-money valuation to $1 billion. The ETH Zurich spinout, founded in 2022, develops AI models that automate heavy construction equipment – excavators, earthmovers, and other machinery used for driving, digging, and excavating on construction sites.
The SoftBank investment follows reporting that the Japanese technology giant had been considering an acquisition of the company. The round follows a $23 million raise last year from IQ Capital, Armada Investment Group, Zacua Ventures, and Holcim, the building materials manufacturer.
What Gravis Robotics Builds
Gravis Robotics trains its AI models using simulated environments in which the systems move billions of cubic yards of virtual earth, developing a precise understanding of how heavy machines interact with ground conditions before deployment on live sites. The resulting models are offered across a capability spectrum: at the lower end, a copilot mode provides operators with real-time 3D guidance and hazard detection while they remain in control of the machine; at the upper end, full autonomy allows operators to exit the machine and supervise fleets of AI-powered vehicles from a distance.
The software is designed to be retrofitted onto existing heavy equipment rather than requiring new purpose-built machines. Gravis Robotics is currently working with dozens of construction brands globally, including Caterpillar, Hitachi, and Volvo. The company reports productivity improvements of up to 30% on equipped job sites.
“Our machines are built for the messy, unscripted reality of live jobsites that breaks traditional automation,” said co-founder and CEO Ryan Luke.
The Market Problem
Construction is one of the industries where the gap between infrastructure demand and build capacity is most acute. Housing shortages, aging energy infrastructure, and data center expansion are all driving project volume faster than the industry’s ability to staff and execute them. Heavy equipment operation is physically demanding, requires skilled operators who are in short supply, and is one of the primary bottlenecks in project timelines.
Autonomous or semi-autonomous heavy equipment addresses this constraint at the most foundational layer of construction – the earth-moving stage that must be completed before any structure can be built. “Whether we are building housing, modernising energy grids or scaling data centers, every project starts with moving earth,” said Luke. “That foundational work has been the bottleneck slowing down the entire built environment.”
The European Robotics Context
The Gravis raise is part of a broader European robotics funding surge. European robotics startups raised €2.67 billion in the first six months of 2026, exceeding the €2.28 billion raised in the previous two years combined. SoftBank’s investment in a Swiss ETH spinout also reflects the Japanese group’s continued interest in European deep-tech after its portfolio includes ARM, Graphcore, and Boston Dynamics.
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