# Banks Hunter

> Banks Hunter is the co-founder and CEO of Charge Robotics, a Berkeley-based startup building the world's first fully automated solar construction system. An MIT mechanical engineering alumnus and veteran of medical robotics startup Vicarious Surgical, Hunter co-founded Charge Robotics in 2021 with Max Justicz to solve one of clean energy's most stubborn bottlenecks: the physical, labor-intensive grunt work of assembling a utility-scale solar farm. His company's Sunrise system - a portable robotic assembly line shipped directly to job sites - autonomously puts together 800-pound solar bays and deploys them in the field, aiming to make solar installation as repeatable and scalable as factory production. Backed by Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Energy Impact Partners, and Y Combinator, Charge Robotics has raised over $39 million to accelerate the energy transition.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Charge Robotics
- **Organizations:** Charge Robotics, Vicarious Surgical, Shaper Tools, Y Combinator
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- **Known for:** Co-founded Charge Robotics, developer of the world's first fully automated solar construction system (Sunrise), Raised over $39 million in total funding from Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Energy Impact Partners, and Y Combinator, Completed first real-world deployment of Sunrise robotic system with SOLV Energy in February 2024

## Career timeline

- **2015** — Graduated MIT with a degree in Mechanical Engineering
- **2015-2016** — Joined Shaper Tools, an MIT alumni-founded startup
- **2016-2021** — Joined Vicarious Surgical as the second employee; served as Embedded Engineering and Product Lead for five years as the company grew and raised over $450M
- **2021** — Co-founded Charge Robotics with Max Justicz (MIT '17), joining Y Combinator's S21 batch
- **2024-02** — Completed first real-world deployment of the Sunrise system with SOLV Energy
- **2024-08** — Raised $17M venture round
- **2025-03** — Raised $22M Series B; MIT News features Charge Robotics' portable factory approach

## Achievements

- Co-founded Charge Robotics, developer of the world's first fully automated solar construction system (Sunrise)
- Raised over $39 million in total funding from Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Energy Impact Partners, and Y Combinator
- Completed first real-world deployment of Sunrise robotic system with SOLV Energy in February 2024
- Was the second employee at Vicarious Surgical, which grew to raise $450M+ for VR robotic surgery
- Y Combinator S21 batch alumnus
- Featured in MIT News for Charge Robotics' portable factory approach to solar construction

## Latest updates

- **2025-03** — Charge Robotics raised a $22M Series B and was featured in MIT News for its portable robotic factory approach to solar construction
- **2025-03** — MIT News published a profile of Charge Robotics titled 'Making solar projects cheaper and faster with portable factories'
- **2024-08** — Raised $17M venture round
- **2024-02** — Completed first real-world deployment of Sunrise system with SOLV Energy, the nation's leading solar EPC contractor

## Links

- Website: https://chargerobotics.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/banksh/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/banks-hunter
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-14