Houston-based construction startup, Rugged Robotics, has secured $9.4m (£7.1m) in a Series A round led by BOLD Capital Partners and Brick & Mortar Ventures.
Riot Ventures, Morpheus , Embark, Consigli Construction Company, and Suffolk Technologies also participated.
This latest round brings the company’s total funding to around $12m (£9m) to date.
Rugged has developed a robot that prints building layouts on the floor of construction sites, so workers know where – and where not – to build.
Derrick Morse, CEO, commented: “We set out to modernise the construction industry, and to build practical solutions that solve the pain points contractors struggle with every day.
“We believe that layout is the ideal starting point. Layout is the beachhead for construction automation. It sits at the intersection of the digital and physical world, solves a huge problem, and unlocks the ability to deploy robotics onto job sites in a very meaningful way.”
The new round of funding will go toward accelerating the robot’s deployment, as well as making additional hires.
Rugged says it’s looking to distinguish itself by way of a “self-contained solution,” which requires minimal setup and allows for multiple robots to operate at once.
The firm is also building toward more autonomy. It notes, “As Rugged Robotics further refines its end-to-end system, the company plans to simplify deployment and eventually unlock unmanned, overnight work.”
Image Credit: Paul Valle/Rugged
Read next: Robotics startup Canvas announces new innovation partner
Are you a building professional? Sign up for a FREE MEMBERSHIP to upload news stories, post job vacancies, and connect with colleagues on our secure social feed.
