Sitegeist: Munich construction robotics startup secures €4 million
Munich-based construction robotics startup Sitegeist has secured €4 million in a pre-seed round. b2venture and OpenOcean are leading the financing, supported by business angels and strategic investors from the construction and robotics sectors. The fresh capital will flow into team building and scaling automated robot systems on real construction sites. The technology addresses a massive bottleneck: Europe’s infrastructure is deteriorating faster than construction companies can repair it.
Critical bottleneck in concrete restoration
Bridges, tunnels, and public buildings across Europe face significant repair needs. In Germany alone, the backlog of repairs amounts to several hundred billion euros, according to KfW data from 2025. At the same time, a shortage of skilled workers is dramatically worsening the situation. Concrete restoration requires the highest precision: damaged concrete must be removed using high-pressure water jets or abrasive methods without damaging the underlying steel reinforcement.
This work is performed almost entirely manually today, is highly site-specific, and is difficult to scale. “There is a critical bottleneck in maintaining our infrastructure, particularly in concrete restoration,” says Dr. Lena-Marie Pätzmann, co-founder and CEO of Sitegeist. Construction companies are often booked months or years in advance.
Sitegeist relies on automated, modular robot systems that work directly on existing structures. Unlike classical automation solutions, these systems do not require fixed 3D models or standardized environments. Using sensors and AI, they automatically adapt their working methods to complex geometries and varying material and surface conditions. “That’s exactly where we come in: with the world’s first specialized, automated, and modular robots capable of performing concrete restoration directly on existing structures,” explains Pätzmann. The platform is to be gradually expanded to cover additional restoration steps.
TUM spin-off with robotics expertise
The investors see enormous potential in the combination of technical expertise and practical relevance. “Currently, concrete is removed primarily by people, which is extremely demanding and physically and mentally taxing. This is a typical use case for robotics deployment,” says Florian Schweitzer, partner at b2venture. Sam Hields, partner at OpenOcean, adds: “The most exciting AI robots today have no fingers and thumbs.” Sitegeist’s non-humanoid robots are designed to solve real problems on construction sites. “Given an aging population and a shortage of skilled workers in physically demanding sectors like construction, robotics will play a central role in keeping infrastructure fit for the future,” Hields is convinced.
Sitegeist is a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich and originates from the robotics research environment of Prof. Matthias Althoff. The four-person founding team combines strong roots in robotics, AI, and engineering: Dr. Lena-Marie Pätzmann (CEO) is responsible for commercial and strategic direction, while Julian Hoffmann (CTO), Nicola Kolb (COO), and Claus Carste (CPO) bring technical expertise. Three of the four founders have a technical background in robotics and AI. The team met during their studies at TUM and in the Munich startup ecosystem.
With this financing, Sitegeist aims to hire additional talent and increase development speed. The company is already working directly with concrete restoration contractors on construction sites in an early phase and plans to expand cooperation with test sites and development partners. Through consistent quality and higher speed, construction companies should be able to work faster while simultaneously reducing safety risks and rework.
