From left: Sebastiaan Visser and Salar al Khafaji. Image: Monumental
The Dutch company said its robots are designed to work on construction sites and can place bricks and mortar with human-level efficiency.
Robotics start-up Monumental has raised $25m to deploy autonomous robots across European construction sites.
The funding round was led by Plural and Hummingbird. It included participation from Northzone, Foundamental, NP-Hard Ventures, Material Ventures and high-profile angel investors. The funding will be used to grow Monumental’s team, deploy more robots and increase the types of tasks these machines can manage.
The Dutch start-up has developed small autonomous robots that are designed to move around the rough terrain of building sites. The company said its machines can address labour shortages and rising costs in the construction sector, with its initial focus being on bricklaying.
Monumental claims each of its robots can place bricks and mortar in industrial or residential walls with human-level precision and efficiency. The robots are designed to be small enough to go wherever humans can go, such as tight corners, doorways or into vans.
Following pilot tests in the Netherlands, Monumental said it completed its first large-scale, 15-metre facade for an office and warehouse building last year. Since then, the start-up has deployed its robots on several other projects, offering its services as a subcontractor.
Monumental co-founder and CEO Salar al Khafaji said the construction industry is being held back by global labour shortages and rising supply chain costs. A report last year claimed that Europe will need at least an additional 1.5m workers in the construction sector by 2030.
“We’re working to help the industry meet these challenges,” al Khafaji said. “Our agile, intelligent and adaptable robots and software blend human expertise with robotic efficiency in a way that the industry has never seen before.
“They will revolutionise not just how buildings are constructed but transform the economics of the construction industry itself. We’re delighted to have this stellar team of investors joining us on this mission.”
Last year, pharma distributor United Drug turned to robotics as a way to address labour shortages. The company deployed 21 autonomous robots in its Dublin distribution centre to work alongside human workers and improve productivity.
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