SoftBank is investing $200 million in Gravis Robotics, an autonomous construction startup. The funding marks a significant bet on automation in the construction sector. Gravis Robotics develops autonomous construction equipment that can operate without human intervention. According to the company's CEO, operators simply press play and the machines drive themselves to the starting point and complete jobs independently. The investment comes as the construction industry faces labour shortages and seeks to improve efficiency through automation. SoftBank has previously backed various robotics and automation companies across multiple sectors. The funding will likely support Gravis Robotics' expansion and further development of its autonomous construction technology. The deal represents one of SoftBank's notable recent investments in the robotics space.

SoftBank mulls robotics startup deal as Genesis valuation near $3B. SoftBank weighs a deal for robotics startup Genesis, which is in talks to raise around $3 billion valuation, signaling big moves in AI and automation. News. SoftBank is considering a strategic investment in Genesis Robotics, a startup targeting AI-powered automation, as Genesis approaches a $3 billion valuation amid rising interest in robotics. Lead Story Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Even as US stock futures point to tentative gains on Wall Street, AI spending plans and Middle East tensions give plenty to worry about" Excerpt from Bloomberg: "These AI officials are at the mercy of technical breakthroughs from abroad, politics and the onslaught of AI disruption" Excerpt from Bloomberg: "The dollar is heading for its best week in a month as investors return to the traditional haven amid heightened geopolitical tensions." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Traders are preparing for a spike in borrowing from Persian Gulf nations as the region's oil exporters seek financing to build costly bypasses around the Strait of Hormuz." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "The European Union escalated a probe against TikTok under its content moderation rulebook, accusing the social network of failing to protect the safety and privacy of teen users." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "India's two leading government-backed universities in Delhi have warned its students against joining the ongoing youth protests, prompting a backlash from political parties and alumni as demonstrations gather pace across the country." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Soaring temperatures have shocked people across the continent, with sweltering conditions made worse by climate change." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "China slapped export controls on 14 European companies including German defense giant Rheinmetall AG, saying it acted in retaliation against the European Union's sanctions on mainland and Hong Kong entities." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel and 90 other lawmakers resigned from the Republican People's Party, or CHP, on Friday in order to create a new political party to mobilize a fractured opposition." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Bloomberg reporters take your questions on how and why the American dream is fading for students globally on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 at 2 p.m. HKT." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "China will officially begin taxing offshore trusts established by its citizens, closing a longstanding loophole used by wealthy families for asset protection and succession planning." Excerpt from TheStreet: "I love mine to the moon and back." Excerpt from TheStreet: ""These are incredibly sturdy and well made."" Excerpt from Bloomberg: "SoftBank Group Corp. is considering an acquisition of Gravis Robotics AG, people familiar with the matter said, as the Japanese investor targets the artificial intelligence technologies underpinning robotics." Excerpt from TheStreet: "Shoppers say it will "enhance the wrist of any woman."" Excerpt from TheStreet: "The world's largest sportswear company has accelerated a wave of store closures across the U.S., shutting down roughly a dozen locations in a single month as it works to reshape its retail footprint. The move comes at a time when competition across the athletic apparel industry..." Excerpt from TheStreet: "The aesthetically pleasing design has glamorous resort vibes." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Global bonds are being pummeled by the latest resurgence in energy prices, delivering losses to investors who bet the worst of this year's rout was over and teeing up credibility tests for central bankers." Excerpt from TheStreet: "Along with the recent collapse of several low-cost airlines, travel agencies and other companies selling various travel services have also had a tough first half of 2026. The string of recent travel company bankruptcies include British firms Great Little Escapes, Salamander..." Excerpt from TheStreet: "The fixed-income ETF boom is often described as a response to yield, but the more revealing shift may be in how investors want to use bonds. Rather than treating a bond fund as a broad income sleeve, households and advisers are looking for vehicles that put future..." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a fresh bid to calm mounting anger over examination paper leaks as students continued nationwide protests on Friday, with demands growing for the education minister to step down." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Robotics startup Genesis AI is in talks with investors to raise around $500 million in a new funding round, according to people familiar with the efforts." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "US stocks are finding some respite after posting their biggest drop this month as Brent crude eased below $100 a barrel and bond yields halted their ascent." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Brent crude retreated after hitting $100 a barrel in the previous session on concern over widening risks to Middle East supplies, as US President Donald Trump's revived trade tariffs posed economic headwinds." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "SK Hynix Inc. billionaire Chey Tae-won was ordered by a South Korean court to pay his former wife 944 billion won ($643 million) in a divorce settlement that brings the long-running feud near a conclusion." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "SAP SE reported better-than-expected sales for its cloud products after pushing enterprise customers to upgrade systems at a faster pace and adopt a suite of artificial intelligence products." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Intel Corp. delivered a revenue forecast that shattered Wall Street estimates as booming data center spending fuels a long-awaited turnaround." Excerpt from Bloomberg: "Ukraine's popular former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov rejected all jobs offered to him by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he would only accept reinstatement to his old position, a move that could breathe new fire into nationwide protests backing him." Excerpt from GitHub: "A hive mind communication platform" Excerpt from GitHub: "Real-time global intelligence dashboard. AI-powered news aggregation, geopolitical monitoring, and infrastructure tracking in a unified situational awareness interface" Excerpt from GitHub: "A curated list of awesome Claude Skills, resources, and tools for customizing Claude AI workflows" Excerpt from GitHub: "Empowering everyone to host fast and efficient Minecraft servers." Excerpt from GitHub: "Kronos: A Foundation Model for the Language of Financial Markets" Excerpt from GitHub: "Offline, privacy-first grammar checker. Fast, open-source, Rust-powered" Excerpt from GitHub: "Visualize, collaborate, and evolve the software architecture with always actual and live diagrams from your code" Excerpt from GitHub: "The best browser for both you and your AI agents work in parallel." Excerpt from GitHub: "Pretty fancy and modern terminal file manager" Excerpt from GitHub: "π RuView turns commodity WiFi signals into real-time spatial intelligence, vital sign monitoring, and presence detection - all without a single pixel of video." About this digest. Audience: AI and robotics investors and tech entrepreneurs robotics startup investment deal # robotics # investing # technology # softbank # automation ai startup automation investment technology deal

Gravis Robotics brings physical AI to earthmoving. May 5, 2026 Gravis Robotics has launched its live, production-scale autonomy technology to the United States. At ConExpo, the Physical AI company launched Gravis Copilot - the construction industry's first commercially available machine-guidance platform that is autonomy-ready for operators. In collaboration with Develon and Hitachi, Gravis demonstrated its systems' earthmoving capabilities at ConExpo, enabled by its retrofit hardware that is currently in use on construction sites around the world. "ConExpo 2026 marks the moment where Physical AI moves from the R&D lab to the American jobsite," said Ryan Luke Johns, CEO and Co-founder of Gravis Robotics. "With Gravis Copilot, we give contractors a system that delivers massive utility today while building the data foundation for the fully autonomous worksites of tomorrow." Gravis' Physical AI continuously senses, decides and acts alongside human crews on real-world sites. Its platform fuses physical perception from a range of sensors - LiDAR, cameras, GNSS and hydraulic feedback - with online learning and control. This allows the machines to feel the earth and adjust in real-time to changing ground conditions. In Hitachi's ConExpo booth, Gravis Copilot was setup on a 13-ton ZX135US-7 excavator. In its live demos, an operator used the system to "train" the machine to dig a trench autonomously, based on the operator's inputs. "Showcasing Gravis Robotics as a live demo in our ConExpo booth is not only exciting for our attendees to see, but also a terrific example of how Hitachi Construction Machinery is partnering with leading edge technology companies as part of our brand transition to LANDCROS," said Gabe Weiss, Head of Marketing, Americas at Hitachi Construction Machinery Americas. "AI and digitally guided control systems, augmented machine guidance and earthmoving autonomy solutions that Gravis is demoing on our ZX135-7H highlights how new and current Hitachi machinery will bring innovative solutions to the modern job site." Gravis Copilot launch. Designed to be the fastest way for contractors to get started with autonomy, Copilot combines real-time terrain visualization, excavation depth guidance and human form recognition with operator control. The system works within existing workflows, meaning no process changes or regulatory delays, and it keeps operators in control, while still benefiting from sensor-fused perception and autonomy-level onboard AI. This allows contractors to unlock immediate productivity gains while preparing their business for a future with ever-increasing levels of autonomy. Copilot is built on Gravis' platform, meaning every machine equipped today is autonomy ready. Contractors can unlock fully autonomous tasks, such as trenching and truck loading, with a simple software upgrade. The approach allows contractors to adopt autonomy at their own pace, starting with one system and scaling across machines, fleets and crews when ready. Real-world application. Across its multiple global deployments, Gravis partners have recoded up to a 30 per cent increase in operator productivity, with 97 per cent bucket fill rates, and estimated annual net savings of up to $74,000 per machine. Gravis-powered machines are already deployed across major infrastructure and materials projects in seven countries spanning the UK, Europe, Latin America, Asia and now the United States. This includes a 60-mile autonomous oil and gas pipeline project with Techint Group, the first partner to deploy Gravis' autonomy in Argentina. The project involves multiple 36-ton Gravis-powered excavators autonomously digging six-foot trenches in highly compacted and heterogeneous soil and shallow bedrock. "We see significant potential in Gravis' approach and look forward to continuing our collaboration as we scale autonomous operations across future projects," said Alejandro Aguirre from Techint Engineering and Construction