The unsightly and potentially hazardous utility lines that crisscross cities and run for miles and miles in rural regions could all go underground, if the people behind a new startup have their way.
Petra has developed a semi-autonomous robot that's designed to tunnel through bedrock, the startup announced Thursday. The San Francisco company is pitching its technology as a way for companies and governments to quickly and cheaply bury utility lines in areas that were too costly to do so previously.
Legally known as ArcByt Inc., the startup has created a boring method that uses heat, rather than a traditional metal drill, to pulverize rock. The method can be used to bore tunnels of up to 60 inches in diameter through some of the world's hardest rocks, the company said in a press release.
Petra's technology "is the next evolution of tunneling and will usher in a new age of undergrounding utilities," CEO and co-founder Kim Abrams said in the news release.
The startup's technology has impressed investors. Petra also announced Thursday it's raised a $30 million Series A round led by DCVC.
Here's more on its deal and other Series A rounds from the past week:
Exai Bio, Palo Alto, $67.5 million: Section 32 and Casdin Capital co-led the round for this developer of a process designed to detect cancers at an early stage from blood samples. Two Sigma Ventures also invested.
ArcByt Inc. (dba Petra), San Francisco, $30 million: DCVC led the round for this developer of a non-contact tunnel-boring process using semi-autonomous robots.
AutomaticCRM Inc. (dba Connect The Dots), San Francisco, $15 million: Norwest Venture Partners led the round for this provider of sales software that maps out business connections. Cloud Apps Capital Partners and Velvet Sea Ventures also invested.
Limbix Health Inc. (dba Limbix), San Francisco, $15 million: GSR Ventures led the round for this developer of apps designed to treat adolescent depression and other mental health ailments. DG Daiwa Ventures, Storm Ventures, Bixink and DN Capital also invested.
NetSpring Data Inc., Redwood City, $13 million: Dell Technologies Capital led the round for this provider of a business operations analysis service. Khosla Ventures and Wipro Ventures also invested.
Dragonboat Inc., Santa Clara, $12 million: Insight Partners led the round for this provider of product management software. Act One Ventures, Roble Ventures and GingerBread Capital also participated.
