On the first day of the 2023 Venture West Conference, which took place last week, we had the opportunity to hear pitches from 8 up and coming technology companies in the construction tech space. Each of these companies brought a unique solution to a different pain point within the built ecosystem through AI, software, robotics, and more. This competition featured a judges panel of experienced investors including; Kaushal Diwan with DPR Construction, Scott Ellison with Headwater, Jeff Herriman of Ascentage, Nick Deraney of Saint-Gobain, Eric Whobrey of ARCO/Murray, and Ben Price of Orbia Ventures. New to this Demo Day competition, we also installed a popular voting system wherein the audience was also able to calculate their votes. The winner from both the judges scorecards and the audience feedback was Urban Machine. Read below for a breakdown of this breakthrough technology aimed at reuse of lumber. Also, read about the other 7 companies that particiapted.
Winner: Urban Machine
About Urban Machine: Urban Machine is a technology solution provider that is on a mission to convert the 37M tons of wood waste from construction and demolition into $18B a year worth of high volume, locally sourced, premium lumber products. They are building machines leveraging the latest robotics and AI for salvaging lumber waste so it can be used to building again at a price competitive to virgin lumber. Salvaged lumber uses less than 1/10th the energy to produce compared to virgin lumber, making it the greenest building product and enabling a circular economy within construction.
Other participants are listed below in no particular order:
IMAJION
About IMAJION: IMAJION is leading the charge in a new era of construction by enabling position-aware communication and collaboration that seamlessly integrates contextual data across all stakeholders. The next generation of remote work tools for the AEC industry, the IMAJION Collaboration Platform connects remote workers, onsite workers, and external stakeholders securely and effectively through augmented reality video conferencing.
IMAJION will transform how your construction team communicates by delivering enhanced coordination with accelerated decision-making saving time and money while reducing your company’s project risk and carbon footprint and increasing your worker safety. Seamless integration with Procore and BIM 360 gives you the tooling built for your workflow. The company's recent management team changeover has shifted the venture's strategy a bit in the past 6 months, but the new leadership has the experience & expertise to accelerate Imajion's growth and substantiate its onsite adoption.
TRUSSTOR
About Trusstor: Trusstor is an IoT/SaaS company that is digitizing construction management by enhancing construction efficiency and safety, improving profit margins, and saving lives. This includes a command and control software with physical hardware that oversees personnel, equipment, tools, and materials locations and allocations. Trusstor also provides data analysis into insights and a workplan generator, as well as having real-time resource allocation and a site safety alert system. By being both IoT and SaaS, Trusstor digitally integrates many aspects of on-site construction management.
alwaysAI
About alwaysAI: AlwaysAI makes building and deploying Computer Vision (CV) applications easy and affordable for general contractors. Computer vision is a ground-breaking technology that drives revenue gains, maximizes operational efficiencies, and improves safety by automating ’vision’ in the real world. Through deep learning AI, computer vision enables cameras to quickly identify and interpret objects in the physical world and generate data to enable intelligent management decisions.
Business insights from alwaysAI computer vision technology would enable you to capture everything that is happening on-site, address safety concerns, and improve operational efficiencies. Whether by tracking tools, supplies, people, vehicles, or obtaining real-time alerts.
alwaysAI operates in multiple verticals outside of construction including retail, manufacturing, and venue management /real-time analytics, leveraging the same computer vision-driven AI-enabled business intelligence technology.
CUBE
About CUBE: CUBE, is an enterprise SaaS platform focusing on connected digitization of the built environment. CUBE.ms stands for Connected Unified Built Environment Management System, which is what the platform aims to deliver through its extensive toolset and features.
CUBE shall be utilized for managing the entire lifecycle of Building and Infrastructure Projects i.e. design, construction and maintenance. At the heart of driving the entire collaboration initiative is a powerful central data repository with the capability to view and interact with all relevant types of files used in the AEC Industry, on the web browser. This repository coupled with other features encourages collaboration on a digital platform.
The platform aims to reduce approval times, increase project visibility, reduce paper wastage and increase accountability of stakeholders throughout all the stages of the project.
This will revolutionize the way an organization currently conducts its business and catapult them into the age of digital construction.
Rekava
About Rekava: Rekava’s easy-to-use digital workspace enables building and construction companies to streamline workflows, analyze results in real time and make smarter, data-driven business decisions. The startup aims to take a human-centered approach in product development to create a platform where any and all engineers can feel comfortable to work on their engineering calculations. Distinct from other analytical calculation software on the market, Rekava hosts calculations that are simple to use, easier to review, and are customizable.
BoxLock
About BoxLock: At BoxLock, the team is building the world's leading Supply Chain Access Control Platform. Their mission is to make operations more efficient, accountable, and reliable wherever assets are stored and transferred. BoxLock's intelligent hardware-enabled SaaS security solutions provide access control, inventory management, and visibility to leading healthcare, construction, transportation, and warehousing companies.
BoxLock’s SaaS solutions integrate with existing supply chain, operations, and materials management systems to provide real-time inventory access, visibility and security.
Penta Technologies
About Penta: Penta Technologies has been serving the construction market with software solutions since 1968 in tight partnerships with some of the very best names in the contracting industry.
Penta solutions include Project Management & Administration; Service Management, Mobile Field Service & Inspections; Payroll & Workforce Management; multi-company, multi-currency Financials; Purchasing & Inventory; Fixed Asset & Equipment Management, a customer portal for contractors' customers to view service history and an employee portal to allow a contractor's employees to access payroll, PTO and other information.
BuiltWorlds would love to extend a huge thanks for everyone who participated in this Demo Day Competition. If you are a startup and are interested in participating in the our future Demo Day Competitions fill out the survey linked below. You can also email info@builtworlds.com if you have questions regarding dates and the status of your application.
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