Construction tech startup AUAR raises £5.1M to expand robotic micro-factories

Construction tech company Automated Architecture (AUAR) Automated Architecture has closed £5.1 million in funding to make sustainable, affordable housing universally accessible. 

Its automation and robotics platform, along with a decentralised approach, help homebuilders cut construction costs by 30-40 per cent and remove critical bottlenecks in their value chain. 

Traditional building techniques are failing to keep pace with demand, and inefficiencies continue to drive up expenses, cut profits and extend project timelines. Across Europe – especially in regions where housing demand is most acute, such as the UK and Germany – there is an urgent need for innovative solutions that deliver cost-effective, scalable building methods.

Timber construction presents a significant opportunity to address this crisis, combining speed, affordability, and sustainability. 

However, its potential remains largely untapped due to outdated and wasteful manufacturing approaches. AUAR changes that. 

Designed for mid-sized homebuilders, AUAR’s solution enables the cost-effective scaling of timber housing without significant upfront investment or design constraints. 

Builders rent compact robotic Micro-Factories that locally produce the full timber structure of a home in just 12 hours and reduce on-site labour by up to 75 per cent. 

AUAR’s MasterBuilder software connects AI-enhanced design directly to robotic production, automating everything from planning to fabrication and adding value throughout the project stack. This results in lower costs, faster builds, greater control over project timelines and ultimately increased capacity for the construction industry

According to Mollie Claypool, co-founder and CEO of AUAR, the company is building a global, automated construction ecosystem for sustainable, affordable, and beautiful homes at scale, designed to plug into the way builders already work. 

“By enabling the industry to build together, powered by robotics and AI, we’re not just offering a new tool – we’re unlocking new possibilities for how homebuilders can grow, innovate, and deliver at scale.”

The Robotic Micro-Factories developed by AUAR combine robotics with proprietary software to automate the design and construction process, finally making timber construction accessible at scale.

Each Micro-Factory can produce modular timber-frame panels for walls, floors, and roofs, which can be quickly assembled on-site to create a variety of home designs. By streamlining the design-to-manufacture process, AUAR’s solution slashes total construction costs.

This funding round is led by European early-stage venture fund Planet A with participation from Shadow Ventures, Common Magic and Concrete VC. 

Angel investors in this round include Margarita Skarkou, Carmel Rafaeli, Dorothy Chou, Sandro Gianella, and Luke Appleby. Previous investors Miles Ahead, ABB Robotics Ventures, and Nicolas Bearelle also participated.

Sam Baker, Investor at Planet A, asserts that while automation is the single biggest commercial opportunity in construction today, its adoption has been held back by rigid design systems, limited industry know-how, and broken business models. 

“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. 

Their platform answers the urgent need for solutions to real-world constraints around margins, speed, and labour, whilst rapidly scaling the supply of low-carbon housing. A rare combination of world-class technology and industry-beating unit economics positions this team to define the next era of construction.”

In the past year, AUAR built multiple projects in Belgium, worked on over 300 homes, and initiated the build of “ConstrucThor”, a cutting-edge research facility that reimagines the future of sustainable construction. 

By 2030 AUAR aims to have built over 100,000 carbon-negative homes being produced by their customers in more than 10 geographies.

As it enters its next phase of growth, AUAR is scaling its team, expanding its partner ecosystem, and preparing to launch operations across key European markets, including Benelux, DACH, and the Nordics.

Lead image: Mollie Claypool and Gilles Retsin, co-founders of AUAR. Photo: uncredited.