BotBuilt

Durham, United States

Founded 2020

About BotBuilt

BotBuilt is a Y Combinator-backed construction robotics company founded in 2020 that uses advanced robotics to automate residential home framing, directly addressing the critical labor shortage plaguing the $600 billion US construction industry. Based in Durham, North Carolina, the company was founded by Barrett Ames (who holds a PhD in artificial intelligence and robotics from Duke University), Colin Devine, and Brent Wadas, an Army veteran. Their robotic systems focus specifically on framing construction, piecing together panels for walls, floor trusses, and roof trusses, the major structural components of residential homes. The system operates at remarkably low cost of approximately one dollar per hour and can be rapidly reprogrammed to build entirely different frame designs, providing unprecedented flexibility for custom home construction. BotBuilt has raised $12.4 million in seed funding from investors including Ambassador Supply, Y Combinator, Owens Corning, and Shadow Ventures, achieving a post-money valuation of $35 million. Their team includes alumni engineers from NASA, veterans of US Special Operations Forces, and doctorate holders in Robotics and Civil Engineering. The company addresses a significant market need as the National Association of Home Builders reports that over 55 percent of single-family homebuilders face shortages of skilled framers and other trades. By combining cutting-edge software with cost-efficient hardware, BotBuilt promises safer job sites, sustainable building techniques, and faster construction timelines.