Pave Robotics: Robots that repair roads | Y Combinator
Pave Robotics
Robots that repair roads
Robots that repair roads
Pave Robotics builds robots that seal cracks in asphalt, helping paving companies save time and money. Our robots work 24/7 and deliver higher-quality results than humans.
Active Founders
Founder/CEO
CEO at Pave Robotics. Former Mechatronics Engineer at Zipline and Head of Engineering for Mark Rober. Designed and built autonomous porch pirate traps called glitterbombs, and a robot that set up 100,000+ dominoes in 24 hours. Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.
Mason Landon Smith
LinkedIn
Founder/CPO
CPO at Pave Robotics. Former Head of Product at CrunchLabs where I hired and led a team of 12 product designers. BFA in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Company Launches
Pave Robotics - Robots that repair roads
TL;DR
Pave Robotics builds robots that seal cracks in asphalt, making road repair cheaper and easier. Our robots work 24/7 and deliver higher-quality results than humans.
Say Goodbye to Bad Roads with Pave Robotics
The Problem
America’s roads are in crisis. 42% are in mediocre or poor condition, despite $27 billion being spent annually on maintenance. The process of fixing these roads is slow, expensive, and increasingly difficult due to an aging workforce and labor shortages. Moreover, extended road closures for repairs are dangerous and cause major traffic disruptions.
The Solution
Meet Tracer, a fully autonomous robot that performs asphalt crack sealing faster and more effectively than a crew of six people. Tracer operates 24/7, helping paving companies increase efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize road closures.
Why start with cracks?
Crack sealing is the first line of defense against bad roads, but we plan to expand into other forms of road maintenance and paving in the future. We envision a future where roads are continuously kept in pristine condition—and we're building the robots to make that possible.
Our ask
If you know anyone in the following categories we would love an introduction! Email us at founders@pave-robotics.com
- Paving companies
- State or local departments of transportation
- State or local public works departments
- Private equity firms buying paving companies
- Large private parking lot or road owners
Team
Josh Kelly and Mason Landon Smith met while working for the YouTuber Mark Rober. Josh led the YouTube team as head of engineering, while Mason was the founding product designer for Crunch Labs.
Josh is a Stanford graduate with a background in Mechatronics at companies like Zipline and NASA JPL. Mason graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and has a strong track record of building successful products and teams that have gone to market and won multiple awards.
Together, they created Pave Robotics, with the goal of revolutionizing the way roads are maintained.
Jobs at Pave Robotics
Founder’s Associate — Sales & Operations
San Francisco, CA, US
$100K - $140K
0.05% - 0.25%
3+ years
Apply Now ›
Company Details
Pave Robotics
Founded: 2024
Batch: Winter 2025
Team Size: 3
Status: Active
Location: San Francisco
Primary Partner: Jared Friedman
Company website
LinkedIn profile
Crunchbase profile