Construction Robotics Startup Toggle Raises $8M in Series A Funding

Toggle, which provides automation to optimize rebar assembly for reinforced concrete construction, today announced the closing of its $8 million Series A round. The New York-based company said it will use the funding to scale its production capacity, including opening a new, 50,000-sq.-ft. production facility and growing its team.

“At a time when global construction is accelerating to an unprecedented pace, Toggle offers a way to add capacity while saving time and cost on some of the largest types of projects," stated Daniel Blank, CEO of Toggle. "We are especially grateful for our partners who are helping us to bring new tools and approaches to the fundamental building block of our built environment with a focus on renewable energy and sustainable urban development."

Founded in 2016 by Blank and Ian Cohen, Toggle is an alumnus of the URBAN-X Accelerator and the Consortium for Research and Robotics at the Pratt Institute. The startup's software and hardware is designed to work with industrial robots and heavy material handling equipment to increase safety, productivity, and precision in the rebar assembly process.

Construction in digital transformation

The construction industry has been undergoing a transformation as it adopts digital technology and addresses resiliency and sustainability within existing trades and practices, said Toggle. Reinforced concrete is the fundamental building block of cities and infrastructure, so the steel reinforcement that provides its structural integrity is a natural place to start this evolution, according to the company.

Toggle said its patent-pending full-stack systems for rebar fabrication and assembly. The company said its technology is a new approach to a wide range applications in large scale urban and infrastructure construction. Robots and automation can accelerate construction timelines, save costs, and improve worker safety, said Toggle.

The company said it has worked on a wide range of construction projects in North America, ranging from energy to commercial and residential to precast concrete. Renewable energy has been a particular area of focus because of the foundation structures required to support assets and equipment.

Toggle has also collaborated with Miller Bros. on the development of new battery storage capacity for the Philadelphia Navy Yard Microgrid.

Another area of focus has been on pre-assembly of high-rise building columns, particularly on projects that may require these critical structural components in the hundreds or even thousands of pieces. Among Toggle’s partners in this project is Salit Steel, one of the largest rebar companies in Canada.

High-rise column-reinforcement cages being loaded for shipment. Source: Toggle

Investors expect resilience

Tribeca Venture Partners led Toggle's Series A financing. Blackhorn Ventures, Point72 Ventures, New York State, and Twenty Seven Ventures also participated. Past investors include Mark Cuban and Urban Us.

“We're excited to work with Dan and the Toggle team on their mission to bring robotic automation to the construction industry," said Chip Meakem, managing partner at Tribeca Venture Partners. "Reinforced concrete is one of the most consumed products globally, with the rebar process at its core. By applying machine learning and robotics to this process, Toggle can massively reduce cost and improve worker safety in this $500 billion-per-year market.”

“Toggle is a perfect fit with Blackhorn’s investment thesis for modular or prefabricated construction," said Ray Levitt, operating partner at Blackhorn Ventures. "It is capital-light, with high gross margins, making it highly resilient to the lumpy and fluctuating demand cycles that characterize construction. Its solution is applicable to residential, commercial, infrastructure and industrial construction, making it even more resilient to sub-sectoral downturns."

"The hardware and software stacks have been modularized, and the solution can now scale rapidly," he added. "The management team is talented, passionate, focused, adaptable and brings together a powerful combination of domain expertise, manufacturing automation expertise and ability to execute.”