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Buildots Ltd., an artificial intelligence company that uses computer vision to create digital twins of construction sites, said today it has closed on a $15 million investment led by Intel Capital.

OG Tech Partners and a number of previous investors also participated in the round, which brings the startup’s total amount raised to $121 million.

By creating a digital twin of a construction site, Buildots says it’s able to help engineers capture on-site data that can be used to track the status of building projects, identify bottlenecks and solve them, and generally streamline the construction workflow.

Buildots platform is able to measure the efficiency of individual construction tasks in order to provide recommendations that can improve performance while also reducing costs, with delays shortened by up to 50%. Its platform leverages objective site data, as opposed to the traditional subjective self-reporting that the construction industry has traditionally relied on. This helps Buildots to measure the precise status of each task on a construction site, so it can provide more accurate progress updates and deliver reliable performance metrics that site managers can rely on to mitigate risks and delays before they cause bigger problems.

The startup believes that AI innovation can be extremely effective at helping construction firms to overcome many of the challenges and inefficiencies of building projects. It points out that, due to the complexity, costs, the productivity challenges and the numerous stakeholders involved in any given project, even minor errors can result in significant delays and discrepancies regarding budgets. With its digital twin technology, Buildots believes it can solve many of these issues to improve the overall efficiency and reduce the costs of construction projects.

Like most big tech companies’ venture capital arms, Intel Capital has invested millions into a host of AI startups over the last couple of years. But the decision to invest in Buildots stands out, as its parent company Intel Corp. is not only one of the world’s biggest chipmakers, but also a construction behemoth. It’s currently engaged in multiple, multi-billion construction projects all over the world as it attempts to build out its chip manufacturing capacity to better compete against Asian manufacturers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Intel’s construction projects include its two, $20 billion-plus chip manufacturing plants in Ocotillo, Arizona, dubbed Fab 52 and Fab 62, which currently have a completion date of sometime in 2025. In addition, Intel recently broke ground on two more chipmaking fabs in Ohio that are expected to cost up to $28 billion. It’s also building new facilities in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Israel.

These projects are all essential to Intel’s plans of becoming a contract chip manufacturer for other chipmakers under its Intel Foundry business, which was announced earlier this year.

Intel’s current construction budget in the U.S. alone is said to be more than $100 billion, spanning both new facilities and refurbishment projects. But the company itself is not doing that great, with Intel Foundry notably showing significant losses in its most recent earnings call. To help with those costs, Intel has sought backing from private equity firms such as Apollo Global Management Inc., which recently took a 49% stake in the company’s Fab 34 chip plant in Ireland.

Intel has also raked in billions of dollars in grants from the U.S. and other governments, but today’s investment suggests that it also wants to improve the efficiency of its construction operations as a way to cut costs.

Buildots’ technology could help Intel to do that. The startup recently announced a new tool called “delay forecast” that uses AI to predict when construction delays might occur, so construction managers can take pre-emptive action to reduce the impact they might have. According to Buildots, that new feature has already helped some construction firms reduce delay times by as much as 50%, with considerable cost savings resulting.

That said, Intel has not confirmed that it is indeed using Buildots’ software in its own construction projects, though the startup has previously claimed to be collaborating with the chip giant.

Buildots co-founder and Chief Executive Roy Danon said today that Intel Capital has recognized that the construction industry has hardly benefited from the digital age so far. Buildots therefore believes there is a lot of potential to transform a multitrillion-dollar global industry, and wants to be at the forefront of “a transformative shift towards performance-driven construction management,” Danon said.

Software and technology have struggled to make inroads in the construction industry, thanks in part to the complexity and unique nature of major building projects and the nature of the business, which often involves multiple stakeholders including contractors, architects, engineers and suppliers.

However, that appears to be changing with the advance of AI technologies. Buildots is joined in the construction tech sector by startups such as Voyage Control Ltd., which makes AI-powered project management and logistics software for the construction industry, and Dusty Robotics Inc., which sells AI tools for tracing building blueprints on construction sites – a job that has traditionally always been done by hand.

Intel Capital’s investment director Lisa Cohen, who will take a seat on Buildot’s board of directors, said Intel’s experience in undertaking some of the largest and most complex construction projects in the world has enabled it to appreciate the potential impact of AI in the industry.

“Buildots’ visionary outlook and ability to apply AI-powered predictive analytics to increase construction efficiencies will enable a more productive future for the global construction market,” Cohen said.

Image: Buildots

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