URSA Mining
URSA Mining is in a16z speedrun SR005. Based in San Francisco, California, United States of America. Team of 5, founded in 2024.
Facts
- San Francisco, California, United States of America
- 5
- 2024
About URSA Mining
Summary
URSA Mining is a San Francisco-based robotics startup founded in 2024 that is building an operating system designed to retrofit existing mining equipment with autonomous capabilities. Rather than requiring mines to replace their fleets, URSA's software and physical AI stack appears to layer autonomy onto machines already on site, enabling them to move earth with minimal human intervention. The company traces material movement from extraction through delivery, giving operators detailed visibility into production. It is conducting a pilot at what it describes as the largest active alluvial gold mine in the United States, and its five-person team includes people with backgrounds in physical AI, robotics, and remote operations. The founding team combines firsthand mining industry experience with academic physics research.
Business model
URSA likely generates revenue through software licensing or subscription fees tied to its autonomous operating system, potentially combined with implementation or integration services for retrofitting existing equipment. Pricing would likely be anchored to production-phase cost savings and efficiency gains rather than upfront hardware sales.
Go-to-market
URSA's primary customer appears to be mine operators and owners who are dealing with workforce shortages, high production-phase costs, and long development timelines. The likely buying motion is a design partnership or pilot agreement that lets a mine trial the retrofit system on existing equipment before broader deployment, lowering the barrier to adoption. Customer acquisition likely relies on direct outreach and industry relationships, given the capital-intensive and relationship-driven nature of the mining sector.
Founders (1)
- Johann Dias
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