Hoban Acquire Construction Robot Firm Robocon’s CBs — Race to Automate Rebar Processing Heats Up in South Korea
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GS E&C and Hoban Construction have jointly acquired convertible bonds in Robocon, a South Korean construction robotics company, through a venture fund established by their corporate venture capital arms in 2024. The fund totals 38.5 billion won (approximately $28.6 million). Robocon develops “ARON,” an automation solution for rebar cutting, bending, and other processing operations. Deploying ARON can reduce the workforce needed to produce 3,000 tons of rebar from 30 workers to fewer than 10. Samsung C&T had previously invested approximately 15 billion won (approximately $11.1 million) in 2023, making Robocon a consolidated subsidiary. Major South Korean builders are intensifying competition to secure construction automation technology amid structural labor shortages and rising construction costs.
Key Elements
Major South Korean construction companies are racing to secure technology leadership by successively injecting capital into Robocon, a robot-based construction automation firm. A venture fund jointly capitalized by GS E&C and Hoban Construction has acquired convertible bonds (CBs) in Robocon, it has been confirmed. Amid structural pressures from labor shortages and rising construction costs, the push to replace repetitive and hazardous tasks such as rebar processing with robots is gaining full momentum.
According to construction industry sources on the 7th, the “Plan H-Xplo Green Smart City Venture Investment Fund,” capitalized by GS E&C and Hoban Construction, has acquired CBs in Robocon. CBs are bonds that can be converted into shares of the issuing company when certain conditions are met. The size of this acquisition was not disclosed.
The fund was jointly established in 2024 by Xplo Investment, GS E&C’s corporate venture capital (CVC) arm, and Plan H Ventures, Hoban Construction’s CVC. The fund totals 38.5 billion won (approximately $28.6 million), with contributions including 15 billion won (approximately $11.1 million) from a government fund-of-funds for land and transport, 11.5 billion won (approximately $8.5 million) from GS E&C, 2 billion won (approximately $1.5 million) from Hoban Construction, and 500 million won (approximately $370,000) from Xplo Investment.
An Xplo Investment official explained, “We made the decision based on both a strategic investment perspective — the potential to enhance construction site productivity and accelerate digital transformation — and investment return considerations.” The official added, “Several institutions have shown interest at the pre-IPO equity investment stage, but no additional investment has been decided.”
Robocon was established in November 2020 when the robotics division of Daehan Networks, an affiliate of Daehan Steel Group, was spun off. The company develops automation solutions specialized in rebar processing, assembly, and transport.
Its flagship solution, “ARON,” automates the entire processing workflow including rebar supply, cutting, and bending. According to Robocon, producing 3,000 tons of structural rebar for building frameworks previously required up to 30 workers at a rebar processing plant, but deploying ARON can reduce the required workforce to fewer than 10. The company says the solution reduces personnel assigned to repetitive tasks while also lowering material losses during rebar processing.
The company’s automation solutions have also been deployed at overseas sites. Notable examples include projects related to Singapore’s Tuas Port and Taiwan’s Taipei airport, constructed by South Korean builders.
Why builders are paying attention to Robocon
The successive investments in Robocon by construction companies are driven by structural labor shortages at construction sites and rising construction costs. Automating repetitive tasks involving heavy materials — such as rebar transport and processing — can boost productivity while reducing the number of workers assigned to hazardous operations.
Rebar processing, in particular, is a field with high labor intensity and heavy reliance on skilled workers within the construction process. Adopting automation solutions can cut the workforce needed to handle the same volume to roughly one-third, offering a way to offset upward pressure on labor costs.
Samsung C&T first, now GS and Hoban join in
Samsung C&T previously invested approximately 15 billion won (approximately $11.1 million) in Robocon in 2023 through a fund managed by Samsung Venture Investment. It subsequently secured a majority of board voting rights and incorporated Robocon as a consolidated subsidiary in the second half of that year.
With GS E&C and Hoban Construction now joining Samsung C&T as investors, the competitive landscape among major builders vying to secure construction automation technology is becoming increasingly clear. Each company is pursuing a common strategy: making preemptive investments in promising technology firms through their respective CVCs and applying those technologies to their own construction sites to drive productivity gains.
Industry observers expect this investment trend will not be a one-off. Given that labor shortages at construction sites have become a structural issue, major builders’ efforts to internalize robotics and automation technology are likely to expand further. This is the backdrop against which companies like Robocon — those with solutions specialized in specific construction processes — are emerging as strategic investment targets for builders.
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