Construction Technology
Buildots Buy Expands Its Platform, While BuildFactory Launch Unites Prefab Teams
Buildots' helmet-mounted cameras capture every action on a jobsite, while its AI function analyzes deliveries, placements of work and other project components to determine potential of schedule hiccups.
Photo courtesy of Eyal Toueg for Buildots
In a move it says will enable it to connect construction progress, safety and workforce insights, technology firm Buildots has acquired another startup—productivity data management platform Genda.
Terms of the transaction between the two companies, expected to close by the end of the year, were not disclosed. Genda CEO and founder Erez Dror will continue to oversee operations from its Austin, Texas, base.
Whether a project experiences delays due to inefficiency, late material arrivals or other reasons, Genda insights could be tracked in the Buildots platform that integrates construction data from helmet-mounted reality capture cameras.
“When contractors use Buildots to spot delay risks and create mitigation plans, they naturally want to know which levers worked. Our goal is to make this crystal clear," said Roy Danon, co-founder and CEO of the Tel Aviv-based firm. "No one has yet achieved a full understanding of construction productivity, so by bringing Genda’s data into our platform, Buildots is once again breaking new ground.”
Genda was funded by startup backers S3 Ventures, TenOneTen, ICI funds and Jibe Ventures before the acquisition. Buildots said earlier this year it has raised $45 million in a Series D funding round, bringing its total funding to $166 million.
“Accelerating the buildout of critical infrastructure and ensuring AI dominance is a priority for stakeholders worldwide, Buildots is already playing a pivotal role by putting AI and machine vision in the hands of advanced organizations building data centers, semiconductor fabs and battery factories," said Tal Morgenstern, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners and Buildots board member. "By combining its progress insights with Genda’s workforce intelligence, Buildots is set to create the world’s first ‘foundation model’ for construction and the physical world.”
Buildots said that over time, its resources, global reach and investment in product innovation will strengthen Genda’s workforce and safety management solutions. Genda clients include including DPR Construction, Hensel Phelps, Clark Construction, JE Dunn and ANDRES Construction.
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Meanwhile, tech entrepreneur Britton Langdon in September launched BuildFactory, an artificial intelligence-powered platform that connects contractors with fabrication shops and is a software-as-a-service marketplace for fabricators and project managers that seek to acquire prefab services.
He calls his startup the "missing link between coordination and fabrication—the layer that makes prefab actually work the way it's supposed to."
Langdon worked in virtual design and construction at Modern Piping Inc. and Mid-Continent Group before founding MSUITE, a suite of fabrication shop software to help fabricators make prefab assemblies for construction, which was sold to Stanley Black & Decker in 2022. He also was chief strategy officer at Snaptrude
"We built BuildFactory as a pressure release valve for fab teams and a visibility layer for project managers," Langdon said. "Upload your package, specify your needs, get matched with the right shop, track progress in real-time and adjust scope when things change."
