Amsterdam-based start-up Monumental has developed a robot that can lay bricks and recently closed a US$25m (£19.7m) funding round.
Established in 2021 by the duo behind the data visualisation firm Silk (now part of Palantir), Monumental then began limited pilots of the tech within the Netherlands.
These trials included the construction of the 15-metre exterior of an office building. Collaborations with 25 contractors, encompassing projects such as low-income housing, followed, the company said.
Monumental’s approach to addressing construction challenges begins with an autonomous cart designed to handle heavy payloads. The company then employs additional robots to spread liquid mortar and, finally, lay the bricks.
Salar al Khafaji, co-founder and CEO, said: “At Monumental, we’re working to help the industry meet these challenges. Our agile, intelligent, and adaptable robots and software blend human expertise with robotic efficiency in a way that the industry has never seen before.”
The funding round was led by Plural and Hummingbird, with contributions from Northzone, Foundamental and NP-Hard Ventures.
The new capital will be used to facilitate recruitment, the expansion of manufacturing operations and diversification in the handling of bricks and blocks by its robots, Monumental added.
