Gravis Robotics lands £17.4M to expand autonomous digging technology worldwide

Gravis Robotics has closed a $23M (£17.4M) investment round that will fuel the global rollout of its self-driving excavation systems and deepen partnerships with major players across construction and quarrying.

The raise was jointly led by IQ Capital and Zacua Ventures, joined by investors including Pear VC, Imad – the venture arm of Nesma & Partners – Sunna Ventures, Armada Investment, and materials giant Holcim. The company plans to channel the funding into rapid international expansion, recruitment and deeper integration with machine manufacturers and contractors.

A glimpse of the company’s ambitions was seen earlier this year at Manchester Airport, where Gravis worked with Taylor Woodrow to trial its autonomous excavators on a live construction site. According to the company, this marked the UK’s first large-scale demonstration of autonomous earthmoving on an active project.

Gravis’ approach centres on retrofitting standard excavators with a suite of hardware and software enabling automated operation. The system pairs LiDAR, camera feeds, GNSS data and hydraulic sensing to interpret ground conditions, all managed via Slate, a tablet-based interface designed to mesh with existing site systems. The result is a machine that can perform digging and material handling tasks with limited or no human input.

The business has steadily expanded its commercial network. Alongside its collaboration with Taylor Woodrow, Holcimhas adopted the technology for quarry operations such as stockpile control and loading. Gravis’ kits are now compatible with Develon machines in the UK and are already in use with Swiss contractor Kibag.

A notable step in the UK market came via a distribution partnership with Flannery, the country’s largest plant hire provider. Through this agreement, contractors will be able to hire excavators pre-equipped with Gravis’ automation rack—bringing autonomous technology directly into mainstream rental fleets. Gravis now reports an active presence in seven countries, spread across Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia, with deployments ranging from mixed-fleet retrofits to integrated OEM solutions.

Rather than framing automation as a replacement for skilled operators, Gravis promotes it as a tool for boosting consistency, reducing rework and improving safety. Contractors involved in early trials—including Morgan Sindall Construction—said that the robots performed on par with experienced operators for certain tasks and supported smoother overall site productivity. The company reports potential efficiency improvements of around 30%.

These outcomes, if replicated across major infrastructure and mining projects, could shift productivity benchmarks for sectors worth trillions globally. Gravis’ leadership says the company’s grounding in Europe—where contractors frequently work across borders and face rigorous regulatory regimes—provides a strong foundation for global scaling.

Interest in automated plant has grown as construction faces acute labour shortages, tighter delivery schedules and pressure to cut operating costs. Both startups and established manufacturers are racing to develop retrofit or factory-built systems for excavators, wheel loaders and haul trucks. Still, widespread adoption requires navigating complex factors such as site safety protocols, fleet maintenance, rental industry models and the procurement habits of large contractors.

Following this investment, Gravis intends to expand its workforce, develop new integration pathways with OEMs, and scale up deployments of both its retrofit and OEM-ready systems. The company believes the combination of new capital, strengthened partnerships and a growing list of real-world projects positions it for a major commercial push over the next one to two years in Europe, the US and the UK.