Buildots, the AI-led site progress tracker start-up, has secured £12m ($16m) in funding following its UK launch earlier this year.
The Tel Aviv-based venture has secured backing from one of Israel’s largest construction companies, Tidhar Construction Group, venture capitalists, and subsidiaries of Intel and E.ON.
Buildots incorporates artificial intelligence and 3D computer vision technologies to provide onsite project teams with a platform that tracks activity and progress, creating the opportunity to optimise subcontractor productivity, increase onsite efficiency and reduce time and costs.
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Buildots uses hard hat-mounted cameras to capture the imaging of every detail of a project during regular site walks. The data is automatically compared to the design model, and project dashboards are then updated with latest status reports, 360-degree site images and insights on any design or schedule discrepancies. Notifications of this information are then sent to relevant team members.
Buildots CEO Roy Danon said: “In the short time since we started rolling out our product, the immense value it brings to the industry has become clear. Any efficient process must have proper controls in place, but until 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.”
Buildots was founded two years ago by Danon, Aviv Leibovici and Yakir Sundry: all three are graduates of Talpiot, the Israeli Defence Forces’ technological research arm. The business claims two of the 10 largest construction companies in Europe as clients, as well as the largest Israeli construction firm. It launched in the UK in March this year, and has plans to enter the US next year.
Danon added: “Since founding the company, we have managed to prove both technical feasibility and product-market fit, by deploying the product on large-scale construction projects and showing huge returns for our customers. This new funding round is a great sign of confidence by existing and new investors, and will be used to scale and improve our product, and expand to new regions.”
