UK construction tech company Automated Architecture (Auar) has secured £5.1m in new funding to commercialise its robotic “pop-up micro-factory” system, in which a robotic arm equipped with machine vision and AI capabilities builds timber houses on or close to the site.
Auar said it helps homebuilders cut construction costs by up to 40%.
The company is now preparing to promote the system to mid-sized homebuilders in Europe.
It says builders can rent a micro-factory to produce the full timber structure in 12 hours, cutting onsite labour by up to 75%.
The funding round was led by European early-stage venture fund Planet A with participation from Shadow Ventures, Common Magic and Concrete VC. Angel investors included Margarita Skarkou, Carmel Rafaeli, Dorothy Chou, Sandro Gianella, and Luke Appleby.
Also participating were previous investors Miles Ahead, Nicolas Bearelle, and Swiss-Swedish electronics multinational ABB.
Auar teamed up with ABB to develop the system’s robotic arm.
‘Limited know-how, broken business models’
“Automation is the single biggest commercial opportunity in construction today, but its adoption has been held back by rigid design systems, limited industry know-how, and broken business models,” said Planet A investor Sam Baker.
“What stands out with Auar is their ability to embed automation directly into the sector, delivering scalable value in a way that’s both profitable and sustainable.”
Auar was founded in 2019 by chief executive Mollie Claypool and Gilles Retsin, CTO and chief architect.
“AUAR is building a global, automated construction ecosystem for sustainable, affordable, and beautiful homes at scale, designed to plug into the way builders already work,” said Claypool.
Gilles Retsin said: “With the use of affordable, flexible robotics that can easily adapt to different designs, builders don’t need special facilities or massive training to get the best out of our technology.
“By bringing manufacturing directly to the site or close by, we’re cutting out delays and costs.”
Targeting mid-rise timber housing
Auar says that in the past year it has built “multiple” projects in Belgium and worked on more than 300 homes.
It received a grant from Innovate UK to scale the platform for mid-rise timber housing, which it says will be commercially available early next year.
Last year, Auar shipped two micro-factories to the US to investor, Indiana-headquartered Rival Holdings, a firm founded in 2023 that invests in new construction technologies (see further reading).
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