Hey everyone, Nuked here! Ready to dive into some fascinating tech news with a fun twist? Let’s talk about Bedrock Robotics and its exciting journey into autonomous construction vehicles.

Bedrock Robotics, a startup founded by seasoned veterans from Waymo and Segment, has been quietly operating for over a year. Recently, it announced its official launch along with an impressive $80 million funding round from investors Eclipse and 8VC. The company’s main goal is to develop a retrofit self-driving kit for construction and worksite vehicles, aiming to improve efficiency and safety on-site.

According to the company’s blog, they are upgrading existing machinery with sensors, compute power, and AI that understands project objectives, adapts to changing conditions, and works continuously around the clock. The founder and CEO, Boris Sofman, who previously led Waymo’s self-driving trucks program and co-founded Anki Robotics (creator of Cozmo), is bringing a wealth of robotics and AI expertise to this venture.

Other key figures include Waymo veterans Kevin Petersen (now CTO), Ajay Gummalla (VP of engineering), and Tom Eliaz, who has experience at Segment and Twilio. Despite reaching out, the company hasn’t commented publicly yet. TechCrunch will update with more details once they do.

Bedrock is the latest in a series of startups applying autonomy, robotics, and AI to rugged off-road environments such as construction, mining, and industrial sites. Recently, San Francisco-based Pronto acquired its competitor SafeAI, further highlighting this growing sector. Bedrock is testing in states like Arkansas, Texas, Arizona, and California with several construction firms.

As the industry evolves, companies like Bedrock seek to automate heavy-duty tasks in challenging environments, making work safer and more efficient. It’s an exciting time for off-road autonomous tech!