Bedrock automates large excavators, including loading and digging tasks. | Credit: Bedrock Robotics
*LOGLINE: In a world that needs $106 trillion and 349,000 new workers by 2040, the only one digging is artificial intelligence. And he just got a budget of $270 million.
THE PROLOGUE. THE SITUATION IS HOPELESS.
The world is in the grip of infrastructural collapse. McKinsey is panicking about the need for $106 trillion by 2040. The construction industry is desperately looking for 349,000 new workers for 2026 alone. But for some reason, people don't rush into the cabs of excavators. The planet is doomed... until Boris Sofman and his team from Waymo take the stage. Their mission: not to hire people, but to remove them from the equation.
ACT I. THE RISE OF THE MACHINES (FINANCIAL).
Bedrock Robotics, a former stealth startup until July 2025, will unveil its weapon, autonomous kits for upgrading conventional excavators. But you need bullets for war. And they come in: $270 million as part of the Series B round. The total project budget exceeds $350 million. The investors are CapitalG, the Valor Atreides AI Foundation and, significantly, NVentures, NVIDIA's venture wing. The war for the future of construction sites has officially begun, and the GPT chat has bet on robots.
ACT II. THE KING OF THE MOUNTAIN IS WITHOUT A KING.
The main character of the story is not a human, but a fully autonomous excavator. His goal for 2026 is the first ever deployment with "no operator in the cockpit." According to CEO Boris Sofman, this is a transition "from 0 to 1." The point is not for the machine to just dig, but to create a single ecosystem that can orchestrate entire fleets of such machines. Imagine: a construction site where excavation work is carried out 24/7, without smoke breaks, sick days and fatigue. This is the holy grail — the "flying wheel" of data collection, model training, and infinite scaling.
ACT III. PERSONNEL (WITHOUT IDENTITIES).
Even the coolest technology needs a strong team. Bedrock hires heavy artillery:
Vincent Gonget is the new head of evaluation, former head of Security and AI Coordination at Meta for all Llama models. His task is to make sure that the excavator does not start philosophizing about the meaning of digging.
John Chu is the new head of human resources, who has increased the engineering staff at Waymo by 400%. His mission is to hire people who will make machines that don't need people. The irony.
THE EPILOGUE. what's next? THE BATTLE OF ECOSYSTEMS.
Bedrock doesn't just sell robots. He is selling a future in which construction machinery is a service. They can integrate into the existing logistics of buying and managing equipment, becoming a "giant ecosystem provider." In this future, the management of a fleet of autonomous excavators, trucks and bulldozers may be entrusted to a super—platform analog JOBTOROB.com, but for the scale of the whole planet. It will be a world where the dirtiest, most dangerous and monotonous jobs are done by hardware, and people… People can finally figure out what to do instead.
AFTER THE CREDITS (THE JUICIEST PART):
Most of Bedrock's founders are veterans of Waymo, which recently raised $16 billion. Autonomy on the roads gives rise to autonomy on construction sites.
Their first product is retrofit kits. No need to buy a new robot. You can take an old iron horse, breathe an AI soul into it and get a super car. It's brilliant and cheap.
The goal for 2026 is not spot testing, but full—fledged commercial deployments. The film moves from a trailer to a full-length rental.
THE FINAL FRAME: Silhouette of an excavator working in the sunset. There is no one in his cabin.
