Ex-Waymo leaders deploy heavy machinery equipped with autonomous technology to address America’s building crisis as demand for new infrastructure surges

SAN FRANCISCO, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Bedrock Robotics, the company developing advanced autonomous systems for the $13 trillion global construction industry, emerged from stealth today with $80 million in Seed and Series A backing. Rather than design and sell costly new machinery, Bedrock upgrades customers’ existing heavy equipment fleets with reversible, same-day hardware and software installs to enable fully autonomous operations.

With reindustrialization of the United States accelerating, Bedrock’s technology bridges the expanding gap between rapidly rising domestic infrastructure needs and shrinking workforce capacity. In 2024, investment in U.S. manufacturing facilities alone reached a record $238 billion. Despite a painful shortage of 500K construction workers, 1.25 billion hours are spent annually on operating heavy equipment. With 40% of construction workers expected to retire in the next decade, the case for automation that enhances availability and flexibility of labor for the industry has never been stronger.

Founded by three former Waymo leaders – including the former head of its trucking program – and a fourth co-founder who previously led teams at Segment, the Bedrock Robotics leadership team brings extensive experience across machine learning, system architecture, and operation of autonomy technologies in complex, safety-critical environments. Now, the company’s executives are applying their expertise to construction to improve cost, schedule, safety, and predictability of labor-intensive projects. Laurent Hautefeuille, previous EVP at Uber Freight responsible for building the business from inception to $5B in revenue, has recently joined Bedrock as COO.

By integrating with existing construction machines and workflows, the Bedrock Operator powers machines with expert capabilities, empowering builders with the ability to work around the clock, accelerate project schedules, increase profitability and safety, and track progress on jobs. Bedrock’s systems are running on machines, starting with excavators, across active customer construction sites in Arizona, Texas, and Arkansas. The latest funding rounds, Series A led by 8VC and Seed led by Eclipse, will help Bedrock grow its engineering, operations, and commercialization teams, and deepen partnerships to reach its target of initial operator-less deployment in 2026.

“The construction industry is facing so much pressure with the soaring demand for new factories and data centers, the housing crisis, and the mandate for re-industrialization in the U.S.,” said Boris Sofman, CEO and co-founder of Bedrock Robotics. “The only way to rise to the occasion is by empowering construction teams with advanced automation they can trust. Together with our partners in the industry, we’re ushering in a new era where autonomy and intelligence supercharge building, which will benefit both contractors and society.”

Companies like Sundt Construction, a Phoenix-based general contractor with whom Bedrock collaborates closely on field testing and product improvements, are looking for ways to expand operational capacity. “At Sundt, we pride ourselves on being one of the most forward-thinking builders in the country. Staying at the forefront of innovation means continuously exploring technologies that can improve how we work,” said Eric Cylwik, Director at Sundt Construction. “From our earliest conversations with Bedrock, it was clear they had a strong grasp on the challenges we were trying to solve with robotics. Their thoughtful approach to safety and deployment made it an easy decision to partner and pilot their system on our projects. When a technology proves its value in the field, this industry will pick it up fast.”

Bedrock Robotics has also recently teamed with three Texas firms, Zachry Construction, Champion Site Prep, and Capitol Aggregates.

Bedrock’s fundraising has also included participation from Two Sigma Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), Crossbeam Venture Partners, Raine Group, Tishman Speyer, Atreides Management, Al Rajhi Partners, and Samsara Ventures.

To learn more about Bedrock Robotics, visit https://bedrockrobotics.com.

Additional Quotes 

“There are only a small handful of people who can introduce autonomy to a new industry with real credibility — and Boris and the Bedrock Robotics founding team are those people,” said Aidan Madigan-Curtis, partner at Eclipse. “We’re at a unique moment in technology history where autonomy can be productized for industries that truly need it. When I met Boris and the team, it was clear to me that their grit and experience could address the massive market demand for innovation in construction.”

“I’ve long been a robotics skeptic, but Bedrock Robotics was the first company I saw that had it all: the right team, a truly compelling problem that can uniquely be solved today, and a massive market opportunity. Bedrock’s founding team helped pioneer road autonomy at Waymo, and now they’re breaking new ground in construction. At a time when rebuilding America is front and center, Bedrock Robotics’ automation platform is poised to be the workhorse of the new American economy — boosting productivity, driving resilience, and raising wages where it matters most,” said Alex Kolicich, Founding Partner at 8VC.

“What Bedrock is doing is truly next level. While others are focused on moving dump trucks from point A to B, Bedrock is using advanced AI to actually shape the earth itself. Led by one of Waymo’s original technical leaders — someone who helped bring full autonomy to public roads —they are now applying that experience to revolutionize how we build the world,” said John Krafcik, former CEO of Waymo and early Bedrock investor.

About Bedrock Robotics
Founded in 2024, Bedrock Robotics is an autonomous construction technology company with headquarters in San Francisco and active deployment sites across the United States. Led by engineers who helped pioneer autonomous driving at Waymo, Bedrock brings proven autonomy systems to heavy equipment fleets, enabling builders to improve safety, reduce risk, expand capabilities, and accelerate critical project timelines. For more information, visit https://bedrockrobotics.com.

About Eclipse
With ~$5 billion in assets under management and a team of investors with deep operating expertise in technology, manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, healthcare, transportation, and more, Eclipse is a leading U.S. investment firm. Its leadership team has the experience necessary to create and scale complex operations. Eclipse partners with exceptional companies that make physical industries more efficient, resilient, and profitable. For more information, visit https://eclipse.capital.

About 8VC
8VC is a leading technology investment firm, backing visionary teams and industry-transforming companies. The partners have an extensive track record as founders, builders, and operators of companies including Palantir, Addepar, Resilience, and OpenGov. 8VC manages over $7 billion in committed capital, investing primarily in defense, logistics, and other sectors. 8VC’s Build program creates transformative new companies addressing critical gaps in each of the above sectors, providing seed funding, strategic guidance, and extensive operational support.

For more information, visit https://8vc.com.

About Sundt
Sundt Construction, Inc. (www.sundt.com) is one of the country’s largest and most respected general contractors. The 135-year-old firm specializes in transportation, water and wastewater, advanced facilities, heavy industrial and mining, building, concrete and renewable power work and is owned entirely by its 4,000 employees. Sundt is distinguished by its diverse capabilities and experience, unique employee-ownership culture and depth of self-perform expertise in multiple trades. Much of Sundt’s workforce is comprised of skilled craft professionals who, together with the company’s administrative employees, enable Sundt to fulfill its mission to be the most skilled builder in America. Sundt has 13 offices throughout California, Arizona, North Carolina, Texas, Washington, Utah and Florida and is currently ranked the country’s 46th largest construction company by ENR, the industry’s principal trade magazine.

Media Contact
press@bedrockrobotics.com 

SOURCE Bedrock Robotics

Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.