MENDON, Utah — Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI) has formed a joint venture with SoftBank Group Corp. to advance autonomous construction equipment for large infrastructure projects, according to a September 24 statement. The partnership focuses on the development and commercialization of autonomous solutions for civil construction and material handling.
The joint venture is capitalized by SoftBank Group to achieve scale across various construction use cases. This funding is intended to enhance ASI's ability to meet market demand for next-generation autonomous solutions. In addition to the joint venture, SoftBank Group invested $225 million in ASI to provide capital for growing commercial operations across the broader construction market.
ASI CEO Mel Torrie stated that the joint venture positions the company at the forefront of autonomous construction innovation. The company intends to offer automated, OEM-agnostic heavy equipment solutions that allow customers to deploy mixed fleets. These fleets can include haul trucks, dozers, loaders, and compactors operating autonomously across complex tasks such as earthmoving and vertical construction.
The joint venture aims to serve industries including roadways, airports, railways, and waste management. ASI, which was founded in 2000 by engineers who transitioned technologies from Utah State University into the commercial sector, specializes in the Mobius Industrial Autonomous Fleet Orchestration system. The company maintains a 200-plus-acre proving ground in Northern Utah and has offices in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, and Longmont, Colorado.
ASI's proprietary robotic hardware and software is designed to enable both large and small fleets to operate autonomously. The company provides solutions for mixed vehicle environments and existing infrastructure for a variety of sectors, including agriculture, logistics, and landscaping.
