Xpanner Raises $18M to Bring Automation-as-a-Service to Construction Sites
Construction sites are notoriously hard to automate but one California startup is betting it has cracked the code, without asking customers to scrap a single machine. Xpanner, a startup automating construction work through robotics and physical AI technology, has raised $18 million in a Series B bridge round led by existing backer Korea Investment Partners, with KB Investment Co. also participating. The raise takes Xpanner’s total funding to $38 million since its founding in 2020.
Retrofitting the Machines Already on Site
The core of Xpanner’s pitch is its Xpanner automation-as-a-service construction model, built around a product called the X1 Kit. The X1 Kit retrofits existing equipment with hardware and software that enable autonomous operation, allowing customers to subscribe to task-specific automation licences including piling, material handling, trenching, and grading with no upfront investment and no rip-and-replace required. CEO Henri Lee describes it as a smartphone model for heavy machinery: new capabilities delivered through software updates.
The numbers backing this approach are striking. Xpanner grew revenue from $3 million in 2023 to $7 million in 2024 to $21 million in 2025, and recorded $8 million in revenue and $1 million in EBIT in the first quarter of 2026 alone. The company maintains gross margins above 80% and is targeting $60 million in ARR by year-end. It achieved monthly break-even in 2025 and is on track for full-year profitability in 2026.
Current customers include Mortenson, Black & Veatch, and QCells. Investor KIP’s managing director cited near-zero churn and rapid account expansion as proof the value proposition is real. Physical AI startups have already hauled in more than $37 billion in venture funding globally in 2026, shattering the full-year record of $21 billion set in both 2025 and 2021. Xpanner automation-as-a-service construction is now squarely inside that wave and unlike many peers, it is already making money.
