Buildots raises $16m to develop AI error tracking on site

Buildots, which tracks errors on site from hard hat-mounted cameras and processes them to a central dashboard, has raised significant funding from a group of investors.

The company says it is bringing AI to construction, and will use the $16m in funding to leverage the power of AI to track, analyse and provide actionable data for construction project teams.

The $3m seed and $13m series A rounds were led by TLV Partners with Innogy Ventures, Tidhar Construction Group, Ziv Aviram, co-founder of Mobileye & OrCam, Magma Ventures head Zvika Limon, serial entrepreneurs Benny Schnaider and  Avigdor Willenz, and Gil Geva, chairman of Tidhar.

Large projects still rely on tedious manual record-taking by project managers who often keep track of hundreds of thousands of tasks and the progress of dozens of contractors. Productivity in the construction industry has plateaued with researchers estimating that 98% of megaprojects suffer cost overruns of more than 30% and 77% are at least 40% late.

Buildots uses hardhat-mounted cameras to capture imaging of every detail of an ongoing project during regular site walks. The data is then automatically compared to the design model – an electricity socket installed even a few inches from where it should be is visible in the dashboard along with a photo – allowing mistakes or omissions to be corrected immediately at a fraction of what it could cost to rectify them weeks or months later.

“In the short time since we started rolling out our product, the immense value it brings to the industry has become clear,” said Roy Danon, CEO of Buildots. “Any efficient process must have proper controls in place, but till now, automatic process control has been impossible to implement in construction. Thanks to the latest advancements in the fields of AI and computer vision, we’ve been able to bring modern systems that are ubiquitous in other industries, to construction.”

The Automated Process Management solution created by Buildots compares the collected data with the project’s design and schedule and provides essential tools for general contractors and developers to track their projects and make better decisions.

The dashboard displays the percentage of the project completed, broken down by each trade, while also consolidating and allowing for the easy tracking of the loose ends that need to be completed. These functionalities, and others, integrate with existing construction management tools.

The UK and Israel-based company was founded in 2018 by Roy Danon, Aviv Leibovici, and Yakir Sundry. All three graduated from ‘Talpiot’, the creative engine of the Israeli Defense Forces and its most prestigious unit. The company has grown to top developers, engineers, researchers and business professionals.