Home / Business and Economy / AI Startup Aims to Fix Construction's $14T Planning Problem
AI Startup Aims to Fix Construction's $14T Planning Problem
26 Feb
Summary
- MeltPlan secured $10 million in seed funding for its AI platform.
- The AI system optimizes pre-construction decisions in the $14 trillion industry.
- Company partners with major contractors like DPR Construction.
MeltPlan, a startup founded in 2025, has secured $10 million in seed funding to advance its AI-powered pre-construction platform. The investment, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, will bolster the development of its "planning engine," designed to optimize decision-making in the vast $14 trillion construction industry before projects commence.
The AI system addresses critical preconstruction challenges by allowing teams to evaluate constraints and run scenarios with incomplete information. Unlike existing software that focuses on design or execution, MeltPlan aims to bridge the gap by optimizing upstream decisions, preventing costly changes later.
The company is partnering with prominent construction firms like DPR Construction in California and Innovo Group in the UAE. MeltPlan is building a construction-native AI, which has already demonstrated high proficiency in understanding building codes and planning methods, scoring well on inspector exams.
The planning engine integrates four core systems: code compliance, risk-based cost analysis, scenario-based scheduling, and value optimization. This comprehensive approach helps teams simulate outcomes, reduce downstream volatility, and treat preconstruction as the project's core operating system, rather than a mere phase.
