Gritt Raises $34 Million to Propel Robotics in Solar Plant Construction and More

A major global trend is the swift rise in the adoption of solar energy. Nations and enterprises are increasingly embracing solar technologies and energy storage options to achieve energy autonomy and confront climate change issues.

However, this expansion is hindered by a lack of skilled labor necessary to satisfy the growing demand for installations. Although robotics could help alleviate this challenge, conventional industrial robots have struggled to adapt to variable environments—until recently. New developments in AI may have altered this situation.

Meet Gritt, a startup co-founded by roboticists trained at Carnegie Mellon, CEO Puneet Puri, and CTO Vishal Dugar. The company attracted attention on Tuesday with its announcement of a $26 million Series A funding round led by Obvious Ventures, with additional support from Union Square Ventures and Active Impact Investment. This brings their total funding to $34 million, following an earlier seed round from First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and VSC Ventures. Gritt’s mission is to create an intelligent system to “accelerate infrastructure development,” as described by Puri.

“To accelerate construction,” Puri told TechCrunch, “we need intelligence capable of functioning effectively in the unpredictable conditions of construction sites, flexible enough to adapt to different circumstances.”

Rather than constructing robots entirely from scratch, Gritt repurposes existing hardware—currently leasing skidders and robotic arms from firms like Kawasaki—to build platforms managed by its AI systems. Their main tasks include unloading large glass solar panels, transporting them to metal frameworks for installation, and positioning them with sub-millimeter accuracy for human workers to secure.

“Our team comprises individuals who have previously built rockets for space, often with minimal budget constraints for even the smallest components. Conversely, we also have team members familiar with the complexities of labor-intensive, hazardous tasks and how to scale them effectively,” said Andrew Beebe, the Obvious Ventures partner who led Gritt’s Series A funding. “These founders represent the latter group, combining distinctive entrepreneurial spirit with technical expertise, AI knowledge, and machine vision capabilities essential for success.”

Gritt is currently operating two systems in the field, gathering data to improve their performance. Puri notes that a standard crew of eight can install 800 panels per day, but with Gritt’s systems, that same crew can oversee the installation of 3,000 to 4,000 panels daily.

The company has set ambitious objectives, aiming to assist in the installation of 2.8 gigawatts of solar panels in the next 18 months. Their clients include three of the top ten power construction companies in the U.S. Gritt plans to deploy 48 systems over the next six months.

TechCrunch spoke with a Gritt client, who opted to remain anonymous for competitive reasons but expressed excitement about the system’s operational effects. They anticipate enhanced efficiency at remote locations struggling to attract labor, along with reduced injury risks, as workers will no longer have to repeatedly lift 100-pound panels overhead.

Gritt competes against companies that have developed their own solar panel installation robots, such as Luminous Robotics, Cosmic, and China’s Trinabot. While these rivals focus on custom hardware, Gritt employs a strategy of utilizing readily available vehicles and robotic arms, a distinction that could impact growth and cost-efficiency as demand rises.

Gritt seeks to expand its system’s capabilities to take on tasks like fastening solar panels, drilling posts, and building racks for panels. Looking to the future, they aim to address other labor-intensive construction tasks, such as rebar tying before concrete pouring.

What drives the startup’s pursuit of this vision? Primarily, the emergence of new AI models, according to the founders.

“Five years ago, developing a solution for a specific task was moderately feasible,” Puri reflected, “but AI is now fostering generalizability—the core framework can be adapted and fine-tuned for various tasks. For instance, it took weeks to train the system for stacking cinder blocks, while a similar task for rebar tying only took one day using the same software.”

However, creating new tasks is merely the beginning of Gritt’s ambitions. The founders envision that integrating sensors and intelligence into their systems could accomplish more than just panel installation; it could enhance management and decision-making processes. For example, they see their technology detecting an open trench as a storm approaches, allowing it to alert workers to cover it before rain causes damage or to flag missing inventory.

“Gritt now operates as a layer of physical AI, handling complex, labor-intensive tasks while also facilitating on-site decision-making,” Puri emphasized.