Cosmic Robotics raises $4 million for AI-powered robots

San Francisco, Calif.-based construction technology company Cosmic Robotics recently announced it has raised $4 million to build AI-powered robots to accelerate the buildout of critical infrastructure, starting with utility-scale solar.

The funding round was led by Giant Ventures, with participation from MaC Venture Capital, HCVC, and angel investors including Azeem Azhar, Aarthi Ramamurthy, and Nate Williams.

The startup said it tackles the hardest, slowest parts of building critical infrastructure - using mobile manipulation robots (MMRs) to help bridge labor gaps and accelerate the buildout of U.S. energy infrastructure, starting with solar.

Solar installation slowed by manual processes

Cosmic said the U.S. needs to invest an estimated $9.1 trillion in infrastructure this decade, with almost $2 trillion required for energy infrastructure alone.

Solar energy is a scalable and cost-effective method for expanding the nation’s energy supply. Even as demand skyrockets, major projects are bottlenecked by labor shortages and the slow, manual process of solar module installation.

Cosmic said it is on the front lines of this challenge, deploying AI robotics purpose-built to scale American solar infrastructure and strengthen U.S. energy independence.

"Cosmic Robotics is addressing one of the construction industry's most urgent challenges: how to rapidly scale up to meet the growing demand for clean energy infrastructure," said Michael Palank, MaC Venture Capital partner. "Their approach is about enhancing human capability with reliable and precise tools. We're backing a team that understands how to leverage cutting-edge technology to unlock productivity and efficiency in the real world. By working in partnership with the best builders in the industry they are tackling the challenging problems of mitigating labor shortages, safety risks, and efficiency on job sites." 

Team brings construction, aerospace experience

Founded in 2024, Cosmic Robotics is led by co-founders James Emerick, CEO, who brings deep experience in field-deployed construction automation from his work at Built Robotics and Autodesk Research, and Lewis Jones, CTO, who helped launch 3D-printed rockets at Relativity Space.

"I grew up on construction sites with my grandfather, and most of the tools he used 50 years ago are still in use today,” Emerick said. “At Cosmic, we’re building the next generation of construction tools, designed to make exceptional crews even more productive - unlocking efficiency gains the industry desperately needs."

The co-founders are joined by a growing team of engineering leaders from tech companies like Google, Amazon, SpaceX, and NASA,  bringing together aerospace-grade reliability, mission-critical systems thinking, and hard-won field deployment experience.

"Robotics is at an exciting inflection point, with enormous potential to transform how we build critical infrastructure at scale,” said Madelene Larsson, Giant Ventures principal. “The Cosmic team brings a combination of deep in-the-field construction expertise and aerospace-grade engineering excellence - a rare mix that we think is needed to build a generational company." 

Cobots can be a force multiplier

Cosmic’s first jobsite tool, Cosmic-1A, was purpose built for utility-scale solar projects where speed, precision, and consistency are important.

Designed to work alongside existing installation crews, the cobot system takes on the most physically demanding aspects of solar panel installation, which the company said has the potential to cut labor costs by up to 50% and more than double daily throughput.

Cosmic’s momentum is already recognized by industry leaders, with an award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s American-Made Solar Prize and funding from the JLL Foundation. Cosmic is now gearing up to bring Cosmic-1A to some of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the country. As pressure mounts to deliver clean energy at speed and scale, the company is building the tools,and the team,that will define how it gets done.

AI platform adapts to real world conditions

At its core is Particle, Cosmic’s domain-specific AI platform, a real-time decision engine built for the jobsite. Particle helps crews adapt in the moment, through automating quality control (QA), asset tracking, and routing workflows to keep jobs moving, which the company said lays the groundwork for fully autonomous construction.

Unlike automation approaches that attempt to impose one-size-fits-all factory rigidity onto job sites, Cosmic designs AI-powered tools that use multi-modal sensors and advanced AI perception software to adapt to the challenges of real-world construction, and operate reliably in dust, heat, rain, mud, and more.

"Our approach is simple: build great tools, get them into the field, and deliver real value today," Emerick said. "The more systems we deploy, the more data we collect, strengthening the data flywheel that will transform how critical infrastructure is built."