Our take
Built has found a strong niche in solar piling, a repetitive and physically punishing job on remote sites. At a Louisiana solar project tied to Meta's Hyperion data center, about 10 of its robots handle more than half the pile-driving scope and drive nearly 1,000 piles a day.2
The robots still need a human 'robot foreman' to supply fuel and piles, and they stop if they think a person is in the work zone. Pricing is not published; contracts like the $75 million Blattner deal are negotiated with large solar builders.2
Scores by criterion
Each criterion is defined on our methodology page.
Who uses Built and what it's for
Utility-scale solar contractors and EPCs use Built's robots to drive and stabilize piles, with Blattner Energy deploying them across seven projects.2
Built has also worked on data centers, oil and gas, heavy highway, and residential and commercial building projects.2
History
Noah Ready-Campbell founded Built in San Francisco in 2016, after working at Google and selling his e-commerce company Twice to eBay. Its first products included an autonomous track loader.5,2
Built's robots have logged more than 50,000 hours of safe operation in the United States and Australia.1
Exosystem and the RPD 35
Built installs sensors, cameras, GPS, and software on machines from major makers, including Caterpillar, so they can work autonomously inside defined zones. Its Exosystem autonomy kits convert standard excavators into piling robots.2,3
The RPD 35 pile driver works with the RPS 25 pile stabilizer, which uses a laser rangefinder and chute guide to drive piles with millimeter precision. Built also showed the RPK 13, a concept robot for kitting piles, at CONEXPO.1
Australian manufacturing
In October 2026, ARENA awarded Built Robotics Australia up to A$13.3 million toward a A$28.5 million project to assemble autonomy kits in South East Queensland and build and deploy 12 new autonomous piling robot sets.3,4
Competitive landscape
| Company | Product | Pricing model | Deployment footprint | Where Built wins or loses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built Robotics | Exosystem autonomy kits that turn excavators into piling robots3 | Not published; multi-project contracts such as a $75 million Blattner deal2 | More than 40 deployments in the US and Australia2 | Autonomous pile driving on large solar farms; contract pricing only |
| Charge Robotics | Sunrise field factory that assembles and installs solar tracker bays6 | Not published; offered as a turnkey crew and factory6 | Utility-scale solar mechanical installation6 | Charge wins on automating module and tracker assembly. Built wins on the foundation piles that come first. |
| Terabase Energy | Terabase Construct platform for solar construction data, plus design software7 | Not published; demos by request7 | Utility-scale solar owners and EPCs7 | Terabase wins on software that runs the whole build. Built wins on robots doing the heavy work. |
| Civ Robotics | CivDot+ layout robot and CivNav machine control for solar and infrastructure8 | Not published on its site8 | Utility-scale solar and infrastructure sites8 | Civ wins on low-cost survey staking. Built wins on driving the piles once the points are marked. |
| Dusty Robotics | FieldPrinter 2 robot that prints BIM layouts on floors9 | Usage-based: pay for the days used; rates not published9 | Hundreds of projects in North America11 | Dusty wins on indoor layout for every trade. Built wins on heavy outdoor solar work. |
Limits
Prices are not published, and deals are negotiated with large contractors.2
The robots need on-site staff to supply fuel and piles and to manage the fleet.2
Revenue is not disclosed. We estimate it at $20 million to $50 million, based on more than 40 deployments and a $75 million contract with Blattner Energy. This is an estimate, not a reported figure.2
What customers say
Where it helps
Built helps most on large solar farms in tough conditions. Crews in Louisiana put its machines in the swampiest parts of the site, and the robots can keep working in heat, darkness, and lightning stand-downs.2
Ready-Campbell says a conventional crew would need 3 to 4 times as many people to match 10 robots.2
Where it falls short
Contractors who want to automate panel and tracker assembly rather than piling should look at Charge Robotics, and teams that only need survey staking can use Civ Robotics.
Leadership
Noah Ready-Campbell
Founder and CEOReady-Campbell founded Built in 2016 after working at Google and selling his e-commerce startup Twice to eBay.5,2
Sources
- Built Robotics, Company, accessed November 4, 2026
- Business Insider, Autonomous construction bots are building the solar infrastructure behind Meta's Hyperion data center, July 2026, accessed November 4, 2026
- ARENA, Built Robotics: Solar piling robot manufacturing and scale-up, accessed November 4, 2026
- Ground Engineering, Funding for Australian-made autonomous piling systems for solar construction, October 19, 2026, accessed November 4, 2026
- Noah Ready-Campbell, The future of construction, Built Robotics on Medium, accessed November 4, 2026
- Charge Robotics, Homepage, accessed November 4, 2026
- Terabase Energy, Homepage, accessed November 4, 2026
- Civ Robotics, Homepage, accessed November 4, 2026
- Dusty Robotics, Pricing, accessed November 4, 2026
- Dusty Robotics, Homepage, accessed November 4, 2026
- Dusty Robotics, Our customers, accessed November 4, 2026
