Salar al Khafaji

Founder/CEO @BuildMonumental

[Interesting Engineering @IntEngineering]

Dutch robotics startup Monumental has raised a $32 million Series B led by Khosla Ventures to scale a fleet of autonomous, electric robots that already lay real brick on job sites across Europe. Founded in 2021 by Salar al Khafaji (CEO) and Sebastiaan Visser (CTO) — co-founders of data-visualization firm Silk, acquired by Palantir in 2016 — Monumental runs more than 100 robots that use sensors, computer vision and small cranes to lay brick and mortar to millimeter precision, all driven by its AI platform, Atrium. Its machines have built the walls of over 100 homes across the Netherlands and the UK, plus a school, a community center, a hotel and stretches of canal wall.

#Monumental #ConstructionRobots #Bricklaying

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@Etched Incredible. Congrats @robertwachen , @UbertiGavin and Etched team. Insane to see how fast you guys are moving.

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@PedroCoSilva We design & build the robots in-house! We're completely full stack: our software (Atrium), our models, our hardware, and the delivery is all vertically-integrated in-house.

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

Today, we’re announcing an oversubscribed $32 million round at @BuildMonumental led by @khoslaventures, with participation from @pluralplatform and @HummingbirdVC.

[FORTUNE @FortuneMagazine]

Amsterdam-based construction robotics company Monumental raised a $32 million Series B led by Khosla Ventures, Fortune learned exclusively. https://t.co/JDzZKO6F35

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@itsolelehmann Completely agree with this. Bringing back beauty through robotics is a core part of our vision.

[Ole Lehmann @itsolelehmann]

one of my most optimistic AI predictions is that it will allow us to build beautifully again.

the reason so much old architecture was beautiful is that construction was organized around craftsmanship, and people expected buildings to be beautiful.

stone, wood, and brick already had to be shaped and placed by hand, so the workers, tools, and supply chains capable of adding detail were built into the process.

then the 20th century changed the economics.

cities needed huge amounts of housing fast, skilled labor became expensive, and construction shifted toward standardized plans and mass-produced parts.

every unique arch, window, or facade became an expensive exception requiring custom drawings, parts, specialists, and time.

so the cheapest building became a simple box that was easy to repeat.

i mean just look at any modern skyline. it’s the same ugly glass skyscraper repeated from city to city, with very little detail, local character, or differentiation.

which explains why historic neighborhoods are still among the most sought-after parts of so many cities.

isn’t that backwards?

if the future is better, shouldn’t the newest neighborhoods be the ones everyone dreams of living in??

i think AI and robotics will finally reverse the economics.

> AI will make beautiful buildings cheap to design and engineer.
> robotics will make them cheap to physically build.

and the cost difference between a plain box and a detailed facade will collapse.

(the bricklaying robots below are an early version of this)

you've already seen the digital version of this.

building a beautiful website used to require expensive designers and developers. now one person can vibe one in an hour with AI.

the same will happen with buildings.

people just need to care about beauty again.

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@vkhosla @seikatsu @ileri @barendvandenb Btw some people seem to think this is still just about pick and place. Not true! Our robots can pick up tools that do insane precision work to finish the job. Go look at how we bend and insert those wall ties!

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@vkhosla @seikatsu @ileri @barendvandenb Btw some people seem to think this is still just about pick and place. Not true! Our robots can pick up tools that do insane precision work to finish the job. Go look at how we bend and insert those wall ties!

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

Grateful to our team, customers, and all our investors who helped us get to this point. Thanks @vkhosla for believing in us and leading this round, to @seikatsu and the rest of the amazing partners at Plural, and @ileri and @barendvandenb from Hummingbird for supporting us from the earliest days.

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@bercankilic wow, congrats man!

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@thjnmcd @BuildMonumental @khoslaventures @pluralplatform @HummingbirdVC same :-)

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@mariogabriele thanks Mario :-) it's been so great having you on our side

[Mario Gabriele @mariogabriele]

Monumental is cooking.

One of the most exciting companies I've gotten to be a part of. (And one of the most impressive founders.)

Brick by brick.

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@geetkhosla @_sholtodouglas thanks man!

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@samkagan_ @BuildMonumental @khoslaventures @pluralplatform @HummingbirdVC thanks!!

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@geetkhosla @vkhosla Thanks Geet!

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@zach_nomad 100%

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@MattSpoke @BuildMonumental @khoslaventures @pluralplatform @HummingbirdVC I'd love to be building in Canada! Not in the next year yet but we'll get in touch

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@meekaale @DanielleFong 😂

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@meekaale @DanielleFong oh man so good to see you here! ❤️

[Salar al Khafaji @salar]

@DanielleFong It is definitely time to (literally) build