Scalable automation for greener construction

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.

The construction industry faces mounting pressure from soaring costs, labour shortages, and fragmented and inefficient supply chains. There is currently a 2 billion housing shortage globally, an issue aggravated by the fact that builders can’t profitably increase their capacity with current approaches.

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 where housing demand is most acute, such as in the UK or Germany – there’s 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 and affordability with 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 However, its potential remains largely untapped due to outdated and wasteful manufacturing approaches.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 makes it easy to scale cost-effective 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%. 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

AUAR was founded in 2019 by Mollie Claypool, CEO, and Gilles Retsin, CTO and chief architect, after working together for over a decade researching how robotics, generative design, and AI could radically transform housing and how we live. Their profound understanding of the sector’s challenges and unmet needs enabled them to develop a robust, scalable solution at the heart of what the industry demands today.

Mollie Claypool, co-founder and CEO of AUAR, said: “AUAR 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 artificial intelligence, 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 are a breakthrough technology for an industry struggling with a lack of skilled labour and low productivity. These compact, mobile pop-up factories 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 on the design-to-manufacture process, AUAR’s solution slashes total construction costs.

Gilles Retsin, co-founder and CTO of AUAR, said: “Our product is changing the game in construction. With the use of affordable, flexible robotics that can easily adapt to different designs, builders don’t need special facilities or massive training to get the best out of our technology. By bringing manufacturing directly to the site or close by, we’re cutting out delays and costs. This approach isn’t just more efficient, it also opens the door for the industry to build faster and at a larger scale. At AUAR we’re not just making construction more automated; we’re making it more accessible to everyone.”

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.

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. Further validation came through an Innovate UK SMART grant to scale the AUAR platform for manufacturing mid-rise timber housing, demonstrating both market demand and the strength of its solution. AUAR’s system for mid-rise timber housing will be commercially available in early 2026. Ahead of this, the company is engaging with homebuilders, developers and housing providers interested in early access and pilot opportunities. With demand growing across Europe and the UK, AUAR is actively building its network of partners. 

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

auar.io