The EU-Startups Podcast | Interview with Ryan Luke Johns, Co-founder & CEO of Gravis Robotics

Jan 19, 2026 - 23:00
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The EU-Startups Podcast | Interview with Ryan Luke Johns, Co-founder & CEO of Gravis Robotics

In this special episode of the EU-Startups Podcast, we kick off a five-part interview series recorded in partnership with Leonard, the innovation and foresight platform of the VINCI Group, during their Launch Day in Paris.

Leonard supports startups and internal projects shaping the future of construction, infrastructure, energy, and mobility!

During the event, we sat down with five companies from its 2026 cohort for in-depth conversations. This first interview in the series features Ryan Luke Johns, CEO of Gravis Robotics, a Swiss ConTech company founded in 2022, enabling autonomy in heavy machinery. We explore why autonomy is becoming increasingly important in construction, the challenges of deploying robotics in complex environments, why retrofitting existing equipment is key to real-world adoption, and much more!

Key Takeaways:

  • Why autonomy in heavy machinery is becoming a necessity, not a luxury
  • The safety benefits of removing humans from high-risk machine operations
  • Retrofitting existing equipment versus building autonomous machines from scratch
  • The realities of deploying robotics on live construction sites
  • How human operators’ roles are evolving alongside autonomous systems

This episode of the EU-Startups Podcast is brought to you by Vanta. The trust management platform helps more than 12k companies, including Nando’s, Allica Bank and Granola, start and scale their security programmes while building trust with buyers. It saves security teams time and improves programme visibility by automating over 35 compliance frameworks, such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001, as well as GRC workflows like risk management. Click here to learn more!

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