AIM raises $50M to retrofit bulldozers and excavators to operate autonomously
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(Photo via AIM)
AIM Intelligent Machines (AIM), a Seattle-area startup that retrofits heavy earthmoving machinery to operate autonomously, raised $50 million in new funding, the company announced Tuesday.
Investors include Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Human Capital, Ironspring Ventures, Mantis, DCVC, and Elad Gil, among others.
AIM's technology platform accommodates heavy equipment such as bulldozers and excavators, regardless of make, model, size or age. The intent is to improve safety and productivity in extreme working conditions, such as mining.
Semafor reported that AIM attaches the same sensors that power many self-driving cars to machinery to build a real-time, three-dimensional map of the equipment's surroundings. An edge compute system then takes over the controls to dig, haul, plow, fill, and level the ground without a human in the driver's seat. One person can remotely manage an entire site of working vehicles.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based startup, which employs about 40 people, was founded in 2021 and built by engineers with experience at Waymo, SpaceX, Google, Stripe, Tesla and Apple.
'Everything is either mined or grown, and efficient earthmoving is required for both,' CEO Adam Sadilek said in a statement. 'Since the introduction of hydraulic machines like excavators in the 1800s, mining and construction have seen little of the automation that's transformed other industries. These are still among the most dangerous jobs in the world, and outcomes aren't getting better fast enough. AIM is changing that.'
Driving by labor shortages and demand for efficiency, the autonomous construction equipment market is expected to grow from $4.43 billion in 2024 to $9.86 billion by 2030.
Seattle startup Carbon Robotics recently revealed its latest product, the Carbon AutoTractor, an AI-powered, autonomous platform designed to fit on and control existing equipment for farming.
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