TerraFirma

TerraFirma is an Austin construction-technology company that retrofits heavy equipment into remotely operated, semi-autonomous machines. Founded in 2024 by two former SpaceX engineers, the firm converts excavators, dozers, loaders, and rollers to run from a remote command center, and it deploys them on jobs as a contractor rather than just selling the hardware. TerraFirma raised roughly $115 million in 2026, including a $100 million Series A led by Kleiner Perkins, to hire, build a factory, and scale its fleet. The company is betting that retrofitting existing machines is a faster path to jobsite automation than building new robots from scratch.

Beyond the earthmoving itself, TerraFirma organizes its platform into three parts: Mission Planner, an AI-enabled pre-construction suite for bidding, planning, and simulation; Mission Control, a remote command-and-control center; and Accelerated Operations, retrofitted machinery run by small crews. A multi-layer safety system adds automatic person detection and obstacle avoidance, and remote operation lets the company run multiple shifts a day.

On the ground it performs mass excavation, land clearing, grubbing, grading, foundations, and site demolition, operating excavators, bulldozers, skid steers, loaders, graders, and rollers autonomously, remotely, or conventionally. Deployments include site excavation for a Starbucks in North Austin, building pads for the Zachary Cole Foundation’s retreat in Taylor, and demolition and grading of a two-story building in Austin. After earthmoving, the company plans to take on underground utilities, concrete, and structural steel, partnering with specialists for utilities and concrete in the meantime.