SoftBank invests $225M in ASI and forms autonomous construction venture

SoftBank Group has invested $225 million into Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI), a Utah company that makes work vehicles drive themselves.The two have also set up a joint venture to build self-driving machines for big road, rail and airport jobs.

SoftBank is funding the joint venture to cover several kinds of building work, mainly civil construction and moving materials on site. The size of that funding, who owns what and the name of the venture were not disclosed.

The $225 million goes to ASI itself, and the company will use the money to sell more widely across the building trade.

ASI’s main product is Mobius, software that runs fleets of self-driving work vehicles. The company says it works with machines from any major maker, so a builder can automate the mix of equipment it already owns.

“Together, we offer automated OEM-agnostic heavy equipment solutions that let customers deploy mixed fleets of haul trucks, dozers, loaders, compactors, and more,” said Mel Torrie, ASI’s chief executive.

Torrie said the partners want to work with firms that build roads, airports and railways, as well as waste sites. He said the machines can handle jobs from digging and moving earth to building upwards.

ASI was founded in 2000 by engineers who turned research from Utah State University into a business. It is based in Mendon, Utah, where it has a test site of more than 80 hectares, and also has offices in Salt Lake City, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Longmont, Colorado.

Its technology is used on farms and building sites, and in logistics and landscaping, according to the company.

Moreover, SoftBank has invested in this kind of machine before; in August, it led a $200 million round for Gravis Robotics, a Swiss startup that fits excavators with self-driving software.