“AI seems to have found solid footing in the built environment and particularly in the construction tech sector, where a majority of AI-related VC funding has ended up,” writes Max Quertermus, Venture & Investment Senior Analyst for BuiltWorlds and the report’s author. “With a wide range of applications across project management, workforce management, accounting and payments, and advanced equipment and robotics, the sector is ripe with opportunity for AI startups.”
The construction tech sector saw more than double the inflows going to building tech and passed the infrastructure tech sector by more than $100 million. Still, all three sectors are seeing growth in AI technologies.
“The building tech sector saw relatively lower capital inflows to AI/ML startups than construction and infrastructure tech,” the report reads, “but the deals that it did see accounted for nearly 44% of all deals tracked in the sector.”
In infrastructure tech, while AI is not yet as prominent as it is in construction tech, the appetite for the technology is clearly there.
“In the energy and utilities sector, AI/ML enhances operations through smart grids, predictive maintenance, and the seamless integration of renewable energy,” Quertermus writes, adding that there are also considerable applications for AI in asset health management across the infrastructure industry. “AI/ML enables data-driven diagnostics and supports predictive and prescriptive analytics, allowing organizations to anticipate issues and optimize performance.”
The report gives the example of geospatial information systems and mapping as a ripe opportunity for AI/ML integration, referring specially to technologies that process and interpret data.
“These technologies make it possible to model and visualize infrastructure assets and risks in real time.”
