Cosmic Robotics has raised $4 million to build AI-powered robots to accelerate the buildout of critical infrastructure, starting with utility-scale solar.
The round was led by Giant Ventures, with participation from MaC Venture Capital, HCVC, and prominent angel investors including Azeem Azhar, Aarthi Ramamurthy, and Nate Williams.
Cosmic Robotics tackles the hardest, slowest parts of building critical infrastructure – using robotics to bridge labor gaps and accelerate the buildout of US energy infrastructure, starting with solar.
According to Cosmic, the US needs to invest an estimated $9.1 trillion in infrastructure this decade, with almost $2 trillion required for energy infrastructure alone.
Solar energy has emerged as the most scalable and cost-effective solution for expanding the Nation’s energy supply, particularly for powering AI data centers and other energy-intensive industries.
Even as demand skyrockets, major projects are bottlenecked by labor shortages and the slow, manual process of solar module installation. Cosmic is on the front lines of this challenge, deploying AI robotics purpose-built to scale American solar infrastructure and strengthen US energy independence.
Cosmic’s first jobsite tool, Cosmic-1A, is purpose-built for utility-scale solar projects where speed, precision, and consistency matter most.
Designed to work alongside existing installation crews, the system takes on the most physically demanding aspects of solar panel installation, cutting labor costs by up to 50 percent and more than doubling daily throughput.
At its core is Particle, Cosmic’s domain-specific AI platform, a real-time decision engine built for the jobsite. Particle helps crews adapt in the moment, through automating QA, tracking assets, and routing workflows to keep jobs moving, laying the groundwork for fully autonomous construction.
Founded in 2024, Cosmic Robotics is led by James Emerick, co-founder and CEO, who brings deep experience in field-deployed construction automation from his work at Built Robotics and Autodesk Research, and Lewis Jones, co-founder and CTO, who helped launch the world’s first 3D-printed rocket at Relativity Space.
They’re joined by a growing team of engineering leaders from frontier tech companies like Google, Amazon, SpaceX, and NASA – bringing together aerospace-grade reliability, mission-critical systems thinking, and hard-won field deployment experience.
A Grounded Approach Unlike automation approaches that attempt to impose one-size-fits-all factory rigidity onto job sites, Cosmic designs AI-powered tools that use multi-modal sensors and advanced AI-perception software to adapt to the challenges of real-world construction, and operate reliably in dust, heat, rain, mud, and more.
James Emerick, CEO and co-founder of Cosmic Robotics, says: “Construction is the foundation of society – every road, power plant, and data center is built by expert hands in the field.
“I grew up on construction sites with my grandfather, and most of the tools he used 50 years ago are still in use today. At Cosmic, we’re building the next generation of construction tools, designed to make exceptional crews even more productive – unlocking efficiency gains the industry desperately needs.”
Emerick adds: “Our approach is simple: build great tools, get them into the field, and deliver real value today. The more systems we deploy, the more data we collect, strengthening the data flywheel that will transform how critical infrastructure is built.”
Madelene Larsson, principal at Giant Ventures, says: “Robotics is at an exciting inflection point, with enormous potential to transform how we build critical infrastructure at scale.
“The Cosmic team brings a combination of deep in-the-field construction expertise and aerospace-grade engineering excellence – a rare mix that we think is needed to build a generational company.”
Michael Palank, partner at MaC Venture Capital, says: “Cosmic Robotics is addressing one of the construction industry’s most urgent challenges: how to rapidly scale up to meet the growing demand for clean energy infrastructure.
“Their approach is about enhancing human capability with reliable and precise tools. We’re backing a team that understands how to leverage cutting-edge technology to unlock productivity and efficiency in the real world.
“By working in partnership with the best builders in the industry they are tackling the challenging problems of mitigating labor shortages, safety risks, and efficiency on job sites.”
Cosmic’s momentum is already recognized by industry leaders, with an award from the US Department of Energy’s American-Made Solar Prize and funding from the JLL Foundation.
Cosmic is now gearing up to bring Cosmic-1A to some of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the country. As pressure mounts to deliver clean energy at speed and scale, the company is building the tools – and the team – that will define how it gets done.