Full Breakdown
SoftBank Leads $200 Million Series A in Gravis Robotics, Marking Europe’s Largest Construction-Robotics Fundraise
8/19/2026, 9:14:42 AM
Core Funding Event
Swiss-based Gravis Robotics announced a $200 million Series A round funded solely by SoftBank Investment Advisers. Disclosed on August 17, the financing values the company at roughly $1 billion, making it Europe’s newest robotics unicorn. The capital will be used to scale retrofit kits that convert existing excavators and other heavy equipment into autonomous or semi-autonomous machines.
Background & Context
Gravis Robotics, founded in 2022 as a spin-out from ETH Zurich, supplies the “Gravis Rack” control unit and the “Gravis Copilot” assistance layer that can be bolted onto brands such as Caterpillar, John Deere, Volvo, JCB and Hitachi. The construction sector faces chronic skilled-operator shortages and safety challenges; Gravis positions its technology as a way to improve productivity while reducing human exposure to hazardous sites.
Key Figures & Groups
- Ryan Luke Johns – CEO and co-founder.
- Dominic Jud – CTO and co-founder.
- Marco Hutter – ETH Zurich professor, co-founder and board member.
- Masayoshi Son – SoftBank founder and CEO.
Data & Statistics
- Funding amount: $200 million Series A (SoftBank sole investor).
- Post-money valuation: reported at $1 billion.
- Team size: ~75 employees.
- Geographic reach: deployments on four continents, offices in Zurich, Austin and Oxford.
- Productivity claim: up to a 30 percent boost in job-site productivity versus peak manual operation.
- Prior financing: $23 million round in 2025 led by IQ Capital and Zacua Ventures.
Official Statements & Responses
SoftBank’s investment aligns with Masayoshi Son’s view that “physical AI” will attract the next wave of trillion-dollar markets. Gravis executives emphasize that the retrofit approach avoids the need for contractors to replace existing fleets.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Skilled operators read the earth through subtle physical feedback – listening to the engine strain, sensing the machine vibration and reacting to hydraulic resistance,” — Dominic Jud, CTO
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Valuation: EU-Startups and Dealroom cite a $1 billion post-money valuation, while the original company announcement did not disclose a specific figure.
- Productivity impact: Gravis claims up to a 30 percent productivity increase, but independent verification under varied weather conditions has not been provided.
Why It Matters
The SoftBank capital enables Gravis to accelerate deployment of autonomous control systems across a fragmented heavy-equipment market, where roughly two-thirds of demand lies outside the top three manufacturers. If the promised productivity gains materialize, contractors could mitigate labor shortages and reduce accident risk by limiting human time inside machine cabs. The investment also highlights a broader shift toward “physical AI”—integrating machine-learning models with existing hardware to automate physically demanding tasks.
