Why This Robot Founder Is Betting on Construction

Boris Sofman helped bring Cozmo to life and Waymo’s vehicles onto public roads. Now his company, Bedrock Robotics, is automating heavy construction equipment.

Update, November 3, 2026: Bedrock Robotics announced a $600 million Series C on October 26 at a $4.1 billion valuation, bringing total funding to nearly $1 billion. The company says its fully autonomous excavators began paid work on commercial construction sites in August 2026.

In this episode of Automated, Brian Heater speaks with Boris about the lessons connecting Anki, Waymo, and Bedrock Robotics, and why he sees a different path to commercialization in construction.

Boris explains why Anki’s millions of units sold and $100 million annual revenue peak still came with difficult economics. He describes the pressure of holiday sales, inventory commitments, and cash flow swings that could reach $150 million from peak to valley.

Those experiences also shaped his skepticism about home humanoids as an early market. Industrial customers can put narrower capabilities to work consistently, while consumer robots face demanding expectations across countless different homes.

Brian and Boris discuss why driverless cars need extensive safety redundancy and how Bedrock’s approach builds on machines that contractors already own and operate.

They also explore Carnegie Mellon’s influence, DARPA’s role in launching the self-driving industry, and what Anki’s animated characters taught Boris about helping people understand robots.

KEY MOMENTS
00:00 Why driverless construction has different economics
01:10 Meet Boris Sofman
02:58 Inside Bedrock Robotics’ growing team
04:45 Why Bedrock is based in San Francisco
07:29 Building an in-person robotics company
10:31 What Bedrock builds and what it outsources
12:00 Selling a digital operator to contractors
14:12 Why driverless cars need built-in redundancy
16:39 Safety and autonomy on construction sites
18:01 Comparing autonomous driving with home robotics
20:18 Early research into robots that learn from experience
23:55 How Carnegie Mellon became a robotics hub
28:11 The lasting impact of DARPA’s robotics competitions
30:57 Funding research before a commercial market exists
32:43 How consumer robotics led Boris toward Anki
35:11 When self-driving looked like a four-year problem
35:31 Smartphones, component costs, and Anki’s growth
38:02 Holiday sales and $150 million cash flow swings
40:46 Why home humanoids face difficult economics
43:59 What Cozmo taught Anki about robot personality
45:41 Five years of lessons at Waymo
47:51 Why Boris is betting on autonomous construction

Learn more about Boris Sofman and the Bedrock team:
https://bedrockrobotics.com/about

Learn more about Bedrock Robotics:
https://bedrockrobotics.com/

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