Gritt, a robotics company in South San Francisco, announced on November 10, 2026, that MasTec will deploy its AI-guided installation systems across MasTec Renewables projects. The work starts on MasTec’s utility-scale solar jobs in several states, where Gritt’s machines pick up solar panels and set them in the rows. MasTec Renewables tested the systems on active sites before signing on, and Gritt says its machines have placed more than 35,000 panels for all of its customers so far.
What it does
On a utility-scale solar job, module installation is crew work. Installers carry each panel from the staged pallets and set it on the tracker by hand.
Gritt mounts a robotic arm and its control software on equipment the contractor already runs, such as the skid steers and forklifts named in its July funding announcement. Gritt calls this physical AI, meaning AI models that steer a machine through a physical task. The arm picks a panel and places it in the row. According to the November release, craft workers guide the machine and check its work as it goes.
Gritt’s solar page says the system handles several panel types on several tracker types. Purlin assembly, component transport and checks of completed work are next on its list. The company says the machines also record site activity that supervisors can use for planning.
The install foreman and the superintendent would work with it most, since they lay out the day’s rows and set the crew around the machine. The equipment manager decides which skid steer or forklift carries the attachment. Gritt’s July release says a task that took months to train the first time now takes days.
Evidence so far
The evidence so far is Gritt’s announcement, a comment from MasTec’s construction leadership in that release, and figures on Gritt’s website. The release says MasTec Renewables evaluated the systems by installing megawatts of panels on active job sites.
Rob Turner is vice president of construction at MasTec Renewables. Turner said in the release: “We’ve evaluated Gritt systems on active construction sites, and we see an opportunity to pair our teams’ expertise with technology that supports them in the field.”
These claims come from Gritt:
| Measure | Gritt's figure | Where Gritt states it |
|---|---|---|
| Solar panels installed | More than 35,000 | Solar page |
| Solar capacity installed | More than 18 MW | Solar page |
| Solar construction under contract | 2.8 GW | Solar page |
| Jobsites deployed | More than 7 | Home page |
| Productivity | 4X, as reported by EPC customers | Solar page |
| Cost compared with fully manual installation | 50% lower | Solar page |
| Heavy-load injuries | 80% fewer | Solar page |
| Panel breakages | Zero | Solar page and July release |
| Time to deploy on a jobsite | 1 to 4 weeks | Solar page |
The panel count and the 18 MW cover every Gritt customer across its deployed jobsites, and Gritt says those customers include top 10 US solar EPCs. Gritt attributes the 4X productivity figure to its EPC customers. MasTec’s own installed total, and the crew sizes and panel types behind the 4X and 50% comparisons, are not yet public.
How to measure it on your projects
Track modules set per labor hour. Divide the modules installed and fastened in a shift by every labor hour spent on that installation, including the equipment operator and anyone watching or guiding the machine. Keep the machine’s owning and operating cost in a separate column, so you can turn both into a cost per module at the end.
Capture a baseline on a manual block with the same panel and tracker before the pilot starts:
- Modules set per shift, from the foreman’s daily log.
- Crew size and labor hours per shift, from timecards.
- Modules broken or rejected, as a share of modules handled.
- Strains and lifting injuries, including first-aid cases, from your safety log.
During the pilot, log the same four items for the Gritt block. Add each stop where the machine paused or a worker took over, with the minutes lost. Our post on measuring labor productivity from daily logs and timecards shows how to line up the two data sources.
A first step on one job: have the install foreman record modules set and crew hours for every shift on one block for two weeks.
Availability and cost
Gritt says it deploys on a jobsite in one to four weeks with minimal training. The MasTec work runs through a pipeline of projects, starting with solar. Gritt’s home page lists concrete and rebar work alongside solar and names data centers and large infrastructure as its next markets. Pricing is not public. Gritt’s site takes demo and site-visit requests through a contact form.
Gritt launched in July with $32.4 million in pre-seed and Series A funding. Obvious Ventures led the $26 million Series A. For other machines that work next to a crew, see our posts on Bedrock Robotics’ autonomous excavators and Origin’s OG-1 drywall finishing robot.