TerraFirma Raises $100M in Series A Funding Led by Kleiner Perkins

The round also saw participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Glade Brook Capital Partners, BANNER VC, Saga Ventures, Trust Ventures, Definition, PEAK6, Magnetar Capital, and Ravelin Capital. Angel investors included founders, executives, and engineers from companies including SpaceX, Anduril, Base Power, Shinkei, and Hadrian.

The company will use the funding to grow its engineering, manufacturing, operations, and construction teams. It will also continue developing its semi-autonomous heavy equipment technology.

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TerraFirma is developing an AI-powered construction platform that combines pre-construction software, a remote control center, and semi-autonomous heavy equipment. The company upgrades machines such as excavators, dozers, loaders, rollers, and skid steers so they can be operated remotely instead of requiring someone inside the cab.

Using this system, experienced operators can control multiple machines at the same time from a remote workstation. This helps complete projects faster, lowers costs, improves safety, and creates higher-paying jobs for equipment operators.

TerraFirma is working on projects across the housing, energy, transportation, manufacturing, and education sectors. Recent projects include site preparation and excavation for a new Starbucks in North Austin, a sports arena in Spicewood, and a power substation in New Braunfels.

The company is also working with the U.S. government on important infrastructure and logistics projects in challenging locations around the world.

TerraFirma was created to transform the construction industry by making projects faster, safer, and more efficient through advanced technology. While its current focus is on improving construction on Earth, the company believes its technology could also support future infrastructure projects in space.

Its long-term vision is to build the technology needed for construction both on Earth and beyond, with the goal of becoming a leader in construction as space exploration and settlement continue to grow.

“It is not about trying to fully automate construction equipment,” said Noah McGuinness, CTO of TerraFirma. “Making construction truly faster and cheaper requires innovating on operations and technology together across the full stack. We believe autonomy is a part of the solution, but driving real change requires building a whole ecosystem of technology that is directly informed by rapid iteration and lessons from the field.”

“Construction is the foundation everything else is built on, and it’s been going backward for fifty years,” said Noah Schochet, CEO and co-founder of TerraFirma. “America built the transcontinental railroad, the interstate highway system, and the Hoover Dam. There's no reason we can’t build at that scale again, and there’s no first-principles reason construction can’t become 10x faster, cheaper, and safer.

About TerraFirma

Founded in 2024 by former SpaceX engineers Noah Schochet and Noah McGuinness, TerraFirma is an Austin, Texas-based construction technology company. It develops its own robotics and software to automate earthmoving, and site operations while allowing skilled operators to control equipment remotely.

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