FEATURE at Waymo; CPO, Adam Bercu, former Waymo operations lead; and Chief Software Architect, Calvin French-Owen, Co-founder of Segment. Three of the four have senior leadership experience at Waymo, including heading its trucking programme. This experience in robotics and autonomy for unpredictable environments – such as public roads – is now being applied to the even messier realities of construction.
John Krafcik, former Waymo CEO and early Bedrock investor, said:“ What Bedrock is doing is truly next level. While others are focused on moving dump trucks from point A to B, Bedrock is using advanced AI to actually shape the earth itself. Led by one of Waymo’ s original technical leaders – someone who helped bring full autonomy to public roads – they are now applying that experience to revolutionise how we build the world.”
An industry-first retrofit approach
This model tackles one of construction’ s biggest automation hurdles: the cost of replacing fleets. Project-based work means companies can equip and deploy Bedrock Operators where needed, then move them elsewhere, avoiding the capital outlay for dedicated autonomous equipment.
Proving it in the field
The system is already in use on active sites in Arizona, Texas and Arkansas. On a major highway expansion outside Phoenix, Sundt Construction deployed Bedrock Operators on two excavators, moving 40,000 cubic yards of earth in the first month, including overnight shifts, without loss of productivity. Eric Cylwik, Director at Sundt Construction, said:“ When a technology proves its value in the field, this industry will pick it up fast.” He noted that the technology helped recover nearly half the time lost to earlier labour shortages – a‘ game-changer’ for future resourcing.
Bedrock is also working with Texas-based Zachry Construction, Champion Site Prep and Capitol Aggregates, representing a cross-section of infrastructure and civil engineering markets.
Safety and regulation
Safety and regulation is embedded in the design, with geofencing, hazard detection, redundant systems and immediate halt capabilities if hazards are detected. Remote override is always available. Bedrock is actively collaborating with regulators to develop safety standards for autonomous machinery on live job sites.
The investment case
For Aidan Madigan-Curtis, Partner at Eclipse, the founders’ track record was decisive:“ There are only a small handful of people who can introduce autonomy to a new industry with real credibility – and Boris and the Bedrock Robotics founding team are those people. We’ re at a unique moment in technology history where autonomy can be productised for industries that truly need it.”
Bedrock is using advanced AI to actually shape the earth itself.
Alex Kolicich, Founding Partner at 8VC, added:“ I’ ve long been a robotics sceptic, but Bedrock Robotics was the first company I saw that had it all: the right team, a truly compelling problem that can uniquely be solved today and a massive market opportunity. At a time when rebuilding America is front and centre, Bedrock Robotics’ automation platform is poised to be the workhorse of the new American economy – boosting productivity, driving resilience and raising wages where it matters most.”
Why it matters beyond construction
Faster builds mean faster delivery of manufacturing plants, data centres and housing – key to keeping the US competitive. For Sofman, this is about national capability as much as commercial success:“ The countries that figure out how to build faster, safer and more costeffectively will lead the next industrial era.”
Looking ahead
Bedrock aims to hit its target for fully operatorless deployments by 2026, potentially reshaping how America builds in the process. With a retrofit model, proven leadership from autonomous driving and a rapidly expanding market underpinned by workforce shortages, the company is positioning itself not just as a tool for contractors, but as a critical enabler for the nation’ s industrial ambitions. �
www. intelligentbuild. tech 27