Gritt funding reaches $34M to automate solar farms

Gritt, a startup founded by Carnegie Mellon graduates Puneet Puri and Vishal Dugar, is emerging as a key player in addressing the global labor shortage for solar farm construction by deploying AI-powered systems on off-the-shelf hardware. The company announced a $26 million Series A round, bringing total funding to $34 million, with backing from Obvious Ventures, Union Square Ventures, and Active Impact Investment, among others. Gritt’s approach focuses on leveraging existing robotic arms and loaders to handle tasks such as unloading large glass panels, transporting them to frames, and placing them with sub-millimeter to millimeter precision under AI control, enabling human crews to complete installations more quickly and safely. Industry coverage notes that this technology could dramatically boost output, increasing panel installation from about 800 per day by a typical eight-person crew to 3,000–4,000 per day. The company says it has contracts to assist with 2.8 gigawatts of solar installations over 18 months and plans wider deployment, highlighting the broader shift toward automation in a sector facing skilled-labor shortages. Analysts view Gritt’s strategy of using existing hardware with advanced AI as a smart move to accelerate construction timelines and expand solar capacity.