Sitegeist is Bringing Automated, AI-enabled, Modular Robots on Construction Sites

Sitegeist, delivering easy-to-use, modular construction robots that boost productivity, led by Claus Carste, Nicola Kolb, Julian Hoffmann, and Dr. Lena-Marie Pätzmann, has raised €4M in a pre-seed funding round co-led by b2venture and OpenOcean, with participation from UnternehmerTUM Funding for Innovators and several angel investors, including Verena Pausder, Lea-Sophie Cramer, Alexander Schwörer, and additional strategic backers from the construction and robotics sectors.

The funding will allow Sitegeist to expand its team and scale deployment of automated, AI-enabled robots on real construction sites, helping concrete renovation companies address acute capacity constraints.

Across Europe, aging bridges, tunnels, parking structures, and public buildings urgently require renovation, with Germany alone facing a repair backlog worth hundreds of billions of euros. Progress is further slowed by severe labor shortages, as physically demanding concrete repair work is costly, difficult to staff, and hard to scale.

Unlike conventional automation that depends on pre-existing 3D models or standardized environments, Sitegeist’s robots operate directly on existing structures. Using advanced perception, AI-driven decision support, and adaptive control, they handle complex geometries and varying material conditions without prior digitization, enabling immediate deployment on real renovation sites.

Co-founder and CEO Dr. Lena-Marie Pätzmann noted that concrete removal remains largely manual and unscalable today, and the company is introducing specialized modular robots to automate renovation on existing infrastructure, supported by investor backing to accelerate global deployment.

Concrete renovation requires precise removal of damaged material without harming reinforcement, yet the process remains manual and labor-intensive, creating long backlogs due to worker shortages and safety constraints.

Sitegeist addresses this with modular automated robots built for unstructured construction sites, boosting throughput and quality while reducing rework.

Sitegeist works directly with concrete renovation contractors on-site through a modular platform designed to expand across the renovation value chain. The company plans to collaborate with additional test sites, co-development partners, and talent to further validate and refine its robots.

Florian Schweitzer of b2venture noted that concrete removal is extremely arduous and well-suited for human-robot collaboration, highlighting the team’s blend of robotics expertise and practical on-site knowledge. Sam Hields of OpenOcean emphasized that the company’s purpose-built, non-humanoid robots tackle costly manual work in harsh environments and address labor shortages in physical industries.

Sitegeist is a spin-out from the Technical University of Munich, originating from a robotics research institute led by Matthias Althoff. The company was founded by Dr. Lena-Marie Pätzmann of the University of St. Gallen together with Claus Carste, Julian Hoffmann, and Nicola Kolb, who met through the Munich startup ecosystem.