Construction AI start-up closes $15m funding round

  • February 7, 2022
  • Steve Rogerson

Israeli start-up SiteAware has closed a $15m series B funding round to streamline construction using artificial intelligence (AI).

Founded in 2015, SiteAware pioneered its DCV digital construction verification (DCV) technology. This round follows a $10m series A funding in October 2020.

The company says it will use the funds to fuel continued growth and establish DCV as a technological standard across the US construction industry. The company also has offices in Houston, Texas.

In building the DCV platform, SiteAware tackled a key problem for general contractors, real estate developers and investors – the high rate of construction errors, which inflates the cost of construction by $273bn each year in the USA alone, according to McKinsey. Preventing one mistake can prevent numerous negative effects downstream, from rework and compromises on quality to overtime, litigation and management time spent resolving issues.

“SiteAware’s DCV error prevention technology is disrupting the construction industry by dramatically accelerating schedules and streamlining work processes for all parties,” said Zeev Braude, CEO of SiteAware. “In the next few years, everyone from contractors to developers will be using DCV to build without rework. DCV gives the construction ecosystem access to data they’ve never had before, data that hold the key to the next jump in productivity for the industry.”

The platform streamlines construction and prevents errors by generating in-process actionable insights through complete verification of the building’s structure, shell and interiors. Purpose-built digital twinning technology, combined with proprietary AI, verifies each installed element against the building plans in real time. Field teams receive actionable insights in real time, allowing them to prevent errors and ensure that everything is built according to plans.

The series B round was led by Vertex Ventures Israel, with participation from existing investors Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Axon Ventures, Oryzn Capital, Flying Object and Lool Ventures that led the company’s seed round.

“As the first mover in this new category, SiteAware is blazing a trail for the entire construction industry, allowing the sector to leverage technologies that will ultimately make it more efficient, more transparent and smarter,” said Emanuel Timor, general partner at Vertex Ventures. “We look forward to working closely with the team at SiteAware as it expands its footprint and deepens its work with industry leaders around the world.”

DCV leveragesa element-level data to reveal patterns that help managers uncover bottlenecks, prioritise fixes and make better decisions about everything from the subcontractors they choose to where they can improve project coordination.

SiteAware experienced three-times revenue growth in 2021 and expansion of its customer base to over forty of the leading developers and GCs.