Bricks & Bytes Premium

Welcome to the Bricks & Bytes Broadcast (BBBC) with Patric Hellermann of Foundamental.

This format of episode is a weekly dive into the latest construction tech news from the perspective of investors.

From innovations to fundings, market insights, and VC-isms, if you’re building in construction tech, investing in construction tech, or intersecting between the tech and physical world, then we’ll help you keep your finger on the pulse.

-----------------------

In this episode, Patric discusses the underserved areas in ConstruTech, including common data environments, on-site robotics, and the pre-construction space.

The pre-construction phase is particularly challenging as estimations need to be accurate to win projects and avoid cost overruns. Ediphi, a company that focuses on construction estimating, recently raised a $12 million series A round.

The US construction estimating software market is valued at $1.4 billion, with a predicted compound annual growth rate of 8.9% from 2023 to 2030.

Differentiating in the construction estimating market is crucial, and Ediphi offers cloud-based collaboration and access to accurate cost data. Other companies in the space include 1Build and SpotLock.

The conversation also touches on the challenges of pricing bespoke projects, the importance of a collaborative estimation process, and the history of Ediphi and its competition.

The episode concludes with discussions on rapid funding rounds, the perception of founders with previous exits, and upcoming projects in construction technology, including a super series and an under-the-radar robotics company.

Takeaways

• Underserved areas in ConstruTech include common data environments, on-site robotics, and the pre-construction space.
• Accurate estimations in the pre-construction phase are crucial to winning projects and avoiding cost overruns.
• Ediphi, a company focused on construction estimating, recently raised a $12 million series A round.
• The US construction estimating software market is valued at $1.4 billion, with a predicted compound annual growth rate of 8.9% from 2023 to 2030.
• Differentiation in the construction estimating market is important, and Ediphi offers cloud-based collaboration and access to accurate cost data.

Timestamps:

00:00 Underserved Areas in ConstruTech

01:16 The Importance of Pre-Construction Phase

04:27 The Market Size of Pre-Construction Space

05:57 Ediphi's Series A Funding and Market Opportunity

07:23 Differentiation in the Construction Estimating Market

09:30 Challenges in Pricing Bespoke Projects

11:29 Collaborative Estimation Process

13:44 Ediphi's Origin Story and Competition

15:18 Rapid Funding Rounds and Reasons Behind Them

21:17 Upcoming Super Series in Construction Technology

21:59 Under the Radar Robotics Company

22:58 Discussion on Modulus and Lessons Learned

The truth about BIM that will leave us questioning everything we thought and said about the technology.

In this episode, we have the pleasure of sitting down with BIM expert and Co-Founder of Shft - Michelle du Plessis.

The straight-talking Managing Director of Shft takes us straight to the heart of BIM. Michelle, an architect-turned-BIM consultant, pulls back the curtain and reveals the truth about the technology reshaping the construction industry.

In a candid conversation, Michelle dishes out some hard truths about BIM and builders. Discover the biggest misconception about this emerging field and why there's so much unwarranted negativity surrounding it.

Tune in and explore:

• The biggest myth about BIM and why the negativity around it might be justified
• The harsh reality of homeownership: buying properties you know little about If text-to-BIM technology can make BIM more accessible
• Will small-scale projects eventually adopt BIM? (Michelle's predictions)
• Why top contractors outsource BIM and the commercial drivers behind it

And a lot more …

Sign up for our newsletter at: https://bricksbytes.show

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bricks-bytes/

X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/bricksbytespod

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmNbunUTIIQDzbJgGJt9_Zg

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bricksbytes/

—---------------------------

This episode is brought to you by Shft—helping contractors like you leverage BIM to secure a leading position in the race towards construction’s digital future.

Visit: https://maketheshft.digital

—----------------------------------

Timestamps:

(00:00:00-00:03:11) Intro

(00:03:11-00:05:55) How and Why BIM Consulting

(00:05:55-00:14:40) Understanding BIM and Common Misconceptions

(00:14:40-00:21:45) About Shft and its Customer Base

(00:21:45-00:26:00) Impact of BIM on Mid-sized Projects

(00:26:00-00:35:13) Negative Perceptions Towards BIM

(00:35:13-00:44:50) Text To BIM

(00:46:10-00:47:13) Outro

"The biggest mistake a construction exec can make right now? Assuming the existing business model is going to stay the same."

In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we had Carl McFarland from Big D Construction and we got to learn about why the industry is sitting in a Blockbuster moment, how Apple generates the entire annual net income of a $30 billion construction firm in under 48 hours, and why the executives paying the most attention to technology might still be focused on completely the wrong thing... and many more!

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why the construction firms performing best right now are actually the ones most exposed to disruption - and what the Blockbuster comparison really means in 2025

✅ What most construction CEOs are getting wrong about AI adoption - it's not about the tools they're picking, it's about the question they're not asking

✅ Why Carl believes no single firm, no matter how large, has the capital or intellectual firepower to navigate this transformation alone - and what he thinks the answer actually looks like

✅ The AI agent Big D built for project risk review that's delivering 10x the return of standard efficiency tools - a real use case, not a pitch

Watch now on Spotify and YouTube 🎧 

#aec #construction #constructiontech #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #ai

Our Sponsors:

Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co

Archdesk -  “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com

BuildVision -   streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io

BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb.

breadcrumb.co

Chapters

00;00 Intro

01:59 AI's Impact on Business Operations

06:08 The Blockbuster Moment in Construction

11:50 Fragmentation and Innovation in Construction

15:50 Rethinking Business Models for Profitability

20:09 Acquisition vs. Internal Innovation

26:06 Technology Focus in Construction Leadership

30:21 Collaboration for Industry Transformation

32:40 Leveraging Supplier Relationships for Capital Investment

41:14 Transitioning from Builders to Business Leaders

51:42 The Importance of Operations in Sales

01:03:39 AI as a Tool for Efficiency and Risk Mitigation

The world's largest asset manager just wrote a $100M cheque to train electricians. Google put up $50M. Microsoft named electrical talent as the single biggest challenge to building data centres. The firms selling the AI dream just discovered they can't deliver it without construction workers.

This week on the Executive Briefing:

• Why data centre companies are paying $150K starting salaries for skilled trades, and what that means for every contractor drawing from the same labour pool. The real numbers on construction robotics — $1.36B in venture funding, 125% up year on year — and the four workflows where robots are actually working, not just demoing.

• The Iran oil shock is a second front, not the first. US construction input prices were already running at 12.6% annualised before a single missile was launched. Aaron Anderson's analysis shows 130,000 fewer permits being filed. We break down which sectors are pulling back and which are ploughing ahead regardless.

• The AI question nobody is asking: the difference between deterministic and probabilistic, why every AI tool you're being sold is fundamentally a guess, and how to know which of your workflows can tolerate that and which ones can't. Plus Anna Berger from Trayd on why 99.7% accuracy still isn't good enough for construction payroll.

Quick hits: NEOM's Line is effectively dead, the UK government is abolishing retention payments, and a US jury just ruled social media platforms were deliberately engineered to be addictive.

Join the debate:

Your construction back office admin hasn't taken a vacation in ten years. And it's your software's fault.

In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Patric, Martin, and Dustin break down what four AI CEOs said at NVIDIA GTC and what it means for construction. Then Anna Berger joins fresh off raising $10M in three weeks to expose the chaos inside every specialty contractor's back office.

• AI token costs collapsed 99% — here's what that unlocks

• The data center boom is creating a trades crisis — electricians are now the hottest hire in America

• Why AI will never run construction payroll

• How Anna closed $10M with 40+ investor meetings in her first week

"I just took my first vacation in ten years — thank you." That's the kind of message Anna Berger is getting from her customers.

Watch the full episode now!

Our Sponsors:

Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co

Archdesk -  “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com

BuildVision -   streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:00 Introduction to NVIDIA GTC and AI CEOs 

03:38 The Impact of AI on Cost and Accessibility 

05:34 Specialization vs. Commoditization in AI Models 

07:44 The Role of AI in Engineering and Construction 

10:33 Deterministic Outcomes and Governance in AI 

13:32 The Future of AI in Enterprises and Job Market Dynamics 

23:59 The Role of Accuracy in Construction Projects 

28:06 AI vs Human Judgment in Project Estimation 

30:52 Evaluating AI Accuracy in Professional Contexts 

33:45 The Future of Skilled Trades and Workforce Training 

40:24 Economic Predictions and Market Interests 

44:59 Quarterly Recap: Trends and Insights in Construction Tech 

47:01 Real-Life Lessons from the Industry 

51:43 Celebrating Success: Anna's Fundraising Journey 

53:53 Understanding Trade: A Deep Dive into Construction Back Office Solutions 

56:46 Future Plans: Scaling and Product Development 

1:00:46 The Importance of Compliance in Payroll Management 

1:03:28 Y Combinator's Role in Construction Tech

The cost of intelligence is heading to zero. Construction still hasn't figured out what to do with that.

In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we had Matt Gough and we got to learn about why AI adoption in construction is solving the wrong problem, what a genuine industry moonshot could actually look like, and why the contracting model itself is blocking real transformation... and many more!

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why 50 senior AEC leaders are all bullish on AI - but almost none of them are using it to change how the industry actually works

✅ The "virtual vertical integration" argument - and whether AI makes what Katerra attempted possible this time

✅ How misaligned incentives across the construction supply chain kill innovation before it gets started

✅ What the Empire State Building can still teach us about project delivery in an AI-enabled world

🎧 Listen now on Spotify and YouTube.

#aec #bricksandbytes #construction #constructiontech #ai

Our Sponsors:

Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co

Archdesk -  “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com

BuildVision -   streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io

Chapters

00:00 Intro

03:00 Introduction and context of AI in construction

05:29 The current state of AI adoption

08:10 Challenges in optimizing construction processes

11:17 The role of AI in redefining construction value chains

14:05 Identifying the moonshot for construction

17:07 The importance of collaboration in achieving goals

20:09 The future of AI and construction integration

29:02 Navigating the rapid pace of change

30:22 The moonshot vision for transformation

31:36 Insights from AI in the AEC industry

33:35 Embracing AI: the gym analogy

34:41 Governance and innovation in AI tools

37:22 Shifting from risk transfer to collaborative production

42:50 Overcoming barriers to innovation

47:49 Immediate actions for industry transformation

47:57 Lessons from Neom: ambition and technology

"The number one cause of contractor bankruptcy is taking on work outside your niche."

In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we had Matt Stevens Senior Lecturer at Western Sydney University and we got to learn about the financial patterns behind contractor failure, the metrics most firms never track, and why the construction industry is far more innovative than people give it credit for... and many more!

Tune in to find out about:

✅ The risk-reward sweet spot - where most contractors are positioned vs where they should be

✅ Why 144 out of 150 contractors calculated their project ROI completely wrong

✅ The five numbers every contracting business should be tracking (most track zero of them)

✅ How top quartile contractors run 3 to 11 times more profitably than the rest

Listen on Spotify and YouTube now. Link in the comments!

#construction #bricksandbytes #aec #constructiontech

Our Sponsors:

Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co

Archdesk -  “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com

BuildVision -   streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:46 Introduction to Construction Firm Success

04:37 Understanding Risk Reward Management

06:07 The Importance of Speed in Construction

12:49 Best Practices for Construction Efficiency

22:53 Navigating the Risk Reward Curve

26:54 Navigating Geopolitical Risks in Construction

30:15 The Importance of Small Projects

33:45 Understanding Contractor Bankruptcy Causes

35:04 Key Metrics for Contracting Success

42:52 Succession Planning and Knowledge Transfer

48:59 Best Practices for Effective Meetings

53:25 The Role of Accountability in Project Management

55:59 Characteristics of High-Performing Contractors

01:00:43 Niches of High-Profitability in Construction

01:00:59 Innovation in the Construction Industry

01:06:34 AI's Impact on Construction and Employee Evaluation