Buildroid AI, a UAE-based robotics startup focused on automating construction workflows, has emerged from stealth with $2 million in pre-seed investment led by Tim Draper, the early backer of Tesla, SpaceX, Skype and Robinhood.
Founded in 2025 by Slava Solonitsyn and Anton Glance, the company is developing a platform that integrates specialised and general-purpose robots directly into contractor operations.
Solonitsyn is a Y Combinator alumnus who previously founded Mighty Buildings, raising more than $100 million and delivering over 50 3D-printed homes. Glance earlier founded Glance Clock, which was acquired by NeXtime.
Buildroid’s first product – a block-laying robot built using BIM-to-BUILD simulation – was unveiled at the Big Five Construction Conference.
The system uses Building Information Models, AI-driven digital twin simulations and Nvidia Omniverse to generate optimised robotic workflows. The company says its approach can shorten schedules, cut costs and improve on-site consistency.
Slava Solonitsyn, Buildroid’s CEO and co-founder, says: “UAE’s construction growth demands solutions to persistent labour shortages and productivity bottlenecks.
“Construction robots have been around for over a decade, but have had limited success, primarily because they automate narrow skills and require significant additional labour to support them.
“With the rapid development of AI, it has become possible to bring general-purpose and industrial robots to construction as well.”
The block-laying robot is already being piloted on live job sites in the UAE and will soon be supported by Autonomous Mobile Robots designed to transport blocks from pallets directly to the system.
Buildroid says its multi-robot architecture can deliver productivity gains of up to 10x and cost savings of up to 4x compared to manual labour.
“ALEC self-performs significant blockwork across our projects. In line with our robotics strategy, we are piloting Buildroid’s robotic block-laying system on one of our sites.
We also look forward to leveraging their upcoming BIM simulation tools to virtually test robotic solutions and de-risk on-site deployment,” said Imad Itani, Head of Innovation at ALEC.
Tim Draper, who led the round, said: “Unlike single-robot solutions, Buildroid’s platform combines the best robotic technologies validated through BIM-based simulations.
“Such an approach empowers builders with scalable, flexible, vendor-agnostic automation that maintains the critical role of skilled human operators. I’m excited to back a team that’s transforming how buildings are made, improving efficiency while empowering workers.”
Buildroid plans to use the funding to expand its pilot installations, advance its simulation and autonomous capabilities, and prepare for broader commercial use beginning in Q2 next year.
Main image courtesy of Arabian Business.
