A group of former Waymo engineers has unveiled Bedrock Robotics, a San Francisco-based startup developing autonomous systems for heavy construction machinery. The company emerged from stealth on 16 July with an $80 million Series A round led by Eclipse and 8VC, adding to an earlier seed round raised in May 2024. Chief executive Boris Sofman, who previously ran Waymo’s self-driving truck unit, said the fresh capital will fund expansion of a retrofit kit that equips excavators and other site vehicles with cameras, lidar, onboard computing and AI software capable of round-the-clock operation without human drivers. Bedrock is already piloting the technology on private worksites in Arkansas, Arizona, Texas and California with contractors Sundt Construction, Zachry Construction, Champion Site Prep and Capitol Aggregates. The company aims to begin paid deployments in 2026 and projects that fully autonomous equipment could cut labour costs by around 20 percent while shortening project timelines. Sofman said the firm intends to partner with established manufacturers such as Caterpillar and Deere rather than build new machines, positioning Bedrock as a software and sensor supplier for the $145 billion U.S. excavator market.