Construction automation: Promise Robotics raises $15 million Series A funding

Promise Robotics, an AI company developing a cloud-based industrial production platform for robotic construction and assembly, has raised $15 million in Series A funding, bringing its total funding raised to date to $25 million.

This round was led by Horizons Ventures with participation from Radical Ventures, PSP Investments, and strategic investors, including United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Relay Ventures, and Alate Partners.

The new funding will help Promise Robotics commercialize its first robotic factory platform to support its growing demand from homebuilders and to continue expanding its product IP in AI, computer vision, and industrialized robotics systems for construction.

The construction and housing development industries are facing persistent supply and labor shortages at the time we face a gap of approximately 10.7 million homes in both the United States and Canada combined according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

To bridge this gap, new home building rates would need to triple – a near-impossible feat with traditional construction technology.

Accelerating housing supply with outdated solutions also runs counter to our GHG Emission reduction targets, as buildings are responsible for 38 percent of global GHG emissions.

Over the next few years, the reduction of carbon through more efficient methods of construction is one of the biggest opportunities available to reduce our GHG footprint.

Promise Robotics AI-driven system enables the homebuilding industry to deploy automation at scale to address labor shortages, save costs, and significantly increase the speed of sustainable home production from custom single-family to multi-story buildings.

The company’s AI platform turns off-the-shelf industrial robots into ready-to-deploy production systems powered by its proprietary cloud-based operating system that manages the entire production lifecycle.

Promise Robotics manages the entire automation lifecycle within factories as a service, freeing customers to focus on homebuilding and growing the business – something that hasn’t been available before.

Ramtin Attar, CEO and co-founder of Promise Robotics, says: “Builders are reluctant to invest in costly factories and then endure years of trial and error to achieve operational success.

“These capital and knowledge barriers have historically impeded the industry’s ability to invest in automation technology.

“We have melded our first-hand expertise in automated homebuilding with transformative technology innovations to remove both barriers to broader adoption.”

Founded by Ramtin Attar and Reza Nasseri, a former R&D executive at Autodesk and a distinguished Canadian homebuilder, Promise Robotics emerged less than three years ago.

The venture is rooted in the founders’ extensive track record in large-scale automated home construction, having successfully completed thousands of homes operating a high-volume prefab factory out of Alberta, Canada.

To enable the homebuilding industry, Promise Robotics’ robotic system aims to remove the risk for homebuilders by offering products that benefit from a decade of operational excellence, continuous improvement, and successful homebuilding.

The company estimates that for every 1 million new homes, it can help the industry save $130 billion in cost, reduce GHG Emissions by 560MT, and generate 16,000 new categories of jobs.

Kerry Liu, an investor at Horizons Ventures, says: “It’s hard to imagine we will be building homes the same way in 5-10 years. Promise Robotics is well-positioned to be a disruptive force in this industry.

“We studied the landscape and concluded that Promise Robotics was not only a technical leader, they had an immediate eye towards working with the home builder and rapid commercialization.

“This is not surprising given the background of the founders. We’re thrilled to support them on this journey.”

Salim Teja, partner with Radical Ventures, says: “We’re seeing incredible momentum as the team at Promise Robotics successfully deploys AI systems to automate home construction and to bring efficiencies to an industry struggling to maintain productivity.

“Promise Robotics is now poised to transform how buildings get made, creating a more sustainable and affordable built environment.”

With the support of the company’s headcount expansion of 200 percent in four months, Promise Robotics is setting up its robotic production line in a micro-factory in Alberta, Canada to kickstart its partnership with several homebuilders.

The company is planning to make its turnkey factory production solution available to the broader North American homebuilders in 2025.