Gritt has exited stealth with $32 million in total funding to automate parts of solar construction, TechCrunch reports. The company was founded by Carnegie Mellon-trained roboticists and raised a $26 million Series A led by Obvious Ventures.
Instead of building robots from scratch, Gritt combines off-the-shelf machines such as rented skidders and industrial robotic arms with its own AI models. Its first task is unloading large glass solar panels, carrying them to metal frames, and positioning them accurately so workers can fasten them.
The startup says it has two systems deployed in the field and is using operating data to improve them. CEO Puneet Puri told TechCrunch that a typical eight-person crew can install about 800 panels a day, while the same crew working with Gritt’s systems can install 3,000 to 4,000.
The company says it is contracted to help install 2.8 gigawatts of solar panels over the next 18 months. The test will be whether AI-controlled systems can keep working reliably in the messy outdoor conditions that have long challenged industrial robotics.