Last Week in ConTech - 10 August 2026
Resources for ConTech Founders
Deep Insight: Resources for ConTech Founders
One of the key questions I hear from founders is who they should reach out to when raising capital. Based on these conversations, I’ve created a list of resources that could be valuable to early stage founders.
I’ve grouped them into four areas being: raising capital, accelerating growth, hiring and understanding the market.
Investors
For founders trying to raise capital, The Wallhack is an open-source database of ConTech and AEC Tech investors.
To be included, a venture firm either needs to have appeared in Tracxn’s top 750 AEC-Tech investors or have been recommended by multiple contributors. The database includes the percentage of deals per year, percentage invested in AEC Tech, geographic focus and more. You can also filter between generalist funds with an AEC mandate and specialist funds.
Accelerator Programs
An accelerator program is a fixed term, cohort based program to help early stage startups grow quickly. They typically run for a fixed period, with startups receiving some combination of capital, expert advice, mentorship and access to customers to help accelerate their progress.
In construction tech there are two main types:
Financially motivated
These are accelerator programs that are driven primarily by financial reasons similar to a venture investor. Their goal is to invest in startups that have the potential to become unicorns ($1b+ valuation).Strategically motivated
These are accelerator programs run by a corporate. While they may also have a financial incentive, they also tend to have strategic drivers such as internal problem statements they are looking to solve.
Choosing which accelerator program to join is a personal choice based on the founder. While corporates may be strategically motivated, that doesn’t mean a corporate program can’t meaningfully accelerate a company’s growth. For example, access to Suffolk Boost can give startups the opportunity to pilot their technology on a Suffolk construction site or on one of their 40 operating partners to receive feedback.
Some accelerator programs are:
Many construction tech startups also go through PropTech programs like Metaprop’s program. We are building a bigger list of accelerator programs to cover those that are generalist with an AEC mandate as well and will share this once ready.
As a note, I received a number of these from the Zacua Venture’s team. If you’re looking to join one, the Zacua team has mapped the existing programs, stakeholders and objectives, and are happy to chat to provide further context on relevancy for your startup. If I missed one, please let me know and I will add it to the list.
Hiring
Another question people ask is hiring. AEC Tech Jobs is one place to post jobs (note: I help run this and so I’m biased). There are also a growing number of recruiters specialising in the space.
The two ConTech recruiters I’ve met and heard about the most are:
Recruiters often work on a performance-based model. They’ll typically propose candidates in return for a fee based on the candidate’s first-year salary, payable if the candidate is hired and meets the agreed probation requirements.
There are other recruitment agencies as well and I know a number of startups who work with construction recruitment agencies (not tech focused) to hire Account Managers. The thinking is to find someone in the industry and then train them in tech and sales. It means that the hires understand the industry and can talk to the customers which is valuable for certain types of high ticket enterprise sales.
Pricing Intelligence
This is a fun one and refers to a website called ‘What Contractors Pay.’
I’ve always wondered how much different software costs and many software vendors actively try to hide it by providing quotes only. I’ve even heard of ConTech companies putting NDAs in contracts that prevent customers from sharing pricing with peers.
Sean, who built this, had the same frustration. He created a free independent database where contractors can provide anonymous price reports and has a system to validate submissions.
He just launched it and has seeded the database with pricing information for 28 initial products using research from vendor pricing pages, anonymous tips and scraping forums like Reddit.
This isn’t sponsored, I just think it is really cool so check it out and add your pricing information if you have it! That way we can all see behind the curtain on some of the bigger tech players.
In this issue there are:
8 Startup Fundings
1 Startup Emerged from Stealth
18 Policy and Regulatory Changes
4 New National Infrastructure Projects & Priorities
0 New investment funds
0 Acquisitions
4 News articles
64 new jobs posted - view here
Reading time: 12 mins
Startup Funding
Residential
FormX, a San Francisco startup, raised $12.5m in Seed funding. They deliver fully customized homes and accessory spaces using a combination of an AI platform that streamlines design, engineering, planning, and permitting and utilizes their modular design system. More here.
Notes:
One of the challenges with bringing a new modular construction system to market is that it requires education and buy in from every stakeholder.
For example, with a new green material:
The client may need to pay a green premium and take on the risk of using a material that doesn’t yet have a long performance history.
The designer needs to understand the material properties to complete the structural design calculations, ensure it meets design loads and building code requirements, and incorporate the appropriate performance requirements into the design specification.
The GC needs to understand the impact on the construction schedule, procurement and coordination with subcontractors, particularly if the material requires special handling or installation procedures.
The subcontractor may charge a training premium if the material falls outside their standard operating procedures or requires a different installation method.
They also take on execution risk, as the designer may have specified installation requirements that are unfamiliar or difficult to consistently follow on site.
This fragmentation and need to mitigate risk makes new materials and building methodologies hard to adopt.
Additionally, there are diseconomies of scale as every time you enter a new region as you may need to educate a new designer, GC or subcontractor, each of whom may charge a training premium before they’re comfortable specifying or installing the system.
It’s why, as Brian Potter puts it:
”Construction innovations thus tend to be incremental and evolutionary, things that don’t change the underlying processes”
Procurement / Marketplaces
HomeRun, a Bangalore startup, raised $12m in funding. They are building a construction and renovation materials marketplace offering on demand delivery across Bangalore within 60 minutes through a network of strategically located dark stores and an all-electric delivery fleet. More here.
Quality
Zabidou, an Australian startup, raised $3.5m in Seed funding. They are building a QA system for industrial feed lines that uses a laser sensing system to provide a comprehensive, real time understanding of material properties and are gaining traction in the construction prefabrication sector to ensure material quality prior to delivery. More here.
Green Materials
Living Canvas, an Australian startup, received AUD$2m in Grant funding. They manufacture hempcrete structural insulated panels which include wall, floor and roof cassettes and provide high performance as well as low thermal conductivity, and moisture regulation capability. More here.
Notes:
The grant funding will be used to help establish a regional industrial hemp processing and prefabricated panel manufacturing facility.
Design
SnapScale, a South Korean startup, raised Seed funding (undisclosed). They are building a design workflow automation for the plant and EPC industry which adds a prompt interface on top of CAD to handle the creation, modification and review of design documentation. More here.
Construction Management
Conmeet, a German startup, raised €6m in Seed funding. They are building a management platform for construction and trades businesses which combines project management, procurement, scheduling, operations, documentation and finance in one platform initially targeting mid-sized companies with 10 to 500 employees. More here.
Asset Management
Buzz Solutions, a Californian startup, raised $20m in Series A funding. They are building a visual infrastructure management platform that connects inspection data, asset records and workflows into actionable asset intelligence across transmission, distribution, substations and utility-scale solar. More here.
Other - Robotics
Exclaim Robotics, a Zurich startup, raised $4.95m in Pre-Seed funding. They are building autonomous robots which service hazardous, remote, or hard-to-reach infrastructure starting with AI data centers which now run at 800V DC inside the rack with the voltage making routine maintenance and cabling dangerous. More here.
Notes:
While not yet a construction specific application, the team is building capability in creating physical AI that can understand the environment and complete tasks with dexterity and precision.
When confidence in a skill is low, the robot is able to be teleoperated.
This skillset can be transferable and valuable for specific job site activities.
Out of Stealth
Caliperd, an Australian startup, emerged out of stealth. They are building an AI driven construction estimating tool initially focusing on concrete estimating pulled every schedule such as pad footings, slabs, columns and reinforcement as well as having concrete volumes, reinforcement tonnage and formwork areas calculated, rate-priced, and exported to a BoQ template. View the post here.
Policy and Regulatory Changes
US
Over 530 Local Laws Now Seek to Ban or Restrict Data Centers in U.S.
More than 500 counties or municipalities now actively restrict or block new data centers, according to the review.
This tally includes only the most severe constraints such as steep setback requirements, impossible noise limits, or outright bans on permit approvals which all but forbid construction.
The overwhelming majority of these restrictions have been enacted since the beginning of the year.
Nearly 190 have been passed since June 1.
More than 50 data centers have been canceled so far this year after facing local pushback of some kind.
Data center approvals in Texas halted until audits completed, Gov. Greg Abbott says
The Texas Governor announced a moratorium on the approval of data centers until regulatory agencies can audit proposed data centers seeking connection to the state’s electric grid.
It is unclear how long the audit will take.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is currently tracking more than 1,800 projects in the interconnection queue, representing over 474 gigawatts of electricity.
Approximately 90% of the new power requests are data centers.
The state is currently the second largest market for the facilities in the country, behind Virginia.
EPA says power for data centers can sidestep pollution laws
Power sources providing electricity only to data centers and not the public grid may not be subject to federal pollution laws.
Under this case they may not be subject to the federal Clean Air Act’s Acid Rain Program, which has been key to the dramatic reduction of smog and soot pollution from industrial facilities.
Federal Court Upholds Village of Oak Park’s All-Electric New Construction Ordinance
A federal judge has ruled that the Village of Oak Park’s ordinance requiring new buildings to be all-electric is not preempted by federal law.
It found that the Village’s building code amendments, part of its Climate Ready Oak Park (CROP) initiative, do not conflict with the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA).
This ordinance requires new buildings and residences in the Village to use electricity rather than fossil fuels as their energy source.
Trump administration moves to block public from enforcing environmental protection laws
When Congress passed many environmental protection laws, such as the Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, it didn’t want to leave enforcement only to the executive branch.
Congress specifically wrote into those laws ways for citizens to enforce them through the courts when the government does not act to address the problem.
These are called “citizen suit provisions,” which allow regular people and advocacy groups to sue companies they believe are violating the law.
Citizens can also sue federal agencies that fail to enforce the laws.
Now, in a legal filing, the Trump administration is saying citizens should not be allowed to enforce environmental laws.
Rather that people should be required to leave enforcement to the executive branch even if the executive decides to take no action.
Task force rules out small nuclear power plants as short-term solution (Delaware)
The task force determined that small modular reactors (SMRS) are not a short-term solution.
Issues facing the use of SMRS in Delaware include the availability of suitable sites, water availability, and the need for a national disposal site for nuclear waste.
One risk mentioned in the report is that SMBs could incur cost overruns, with utility ratepayers footing the bill.
Task force members agreed that the state should prepare for the use of SMBs as a clean energy option through public policy, workforce development, and other measures.
They differed on the aggressiveness of such efforts.
Judge likely to make Pentagon resume wind project reviews
A federal judge on Tuesday indicated she was likely to find in favor of a coalition of renewable energy groups and order the Trump administration to resume reviewing wind projects.
The Pentagon conducts reviews of all utility-scale wind energy projects to assess whether the turbines will impact military radars or military flight patterns.
The coalition of renewable energy groups sued the Department of Defense accusing it of stopping the assessment of wind projects as a tactic to block wind energy development.
Judge casts doubt on New York’s polluter pays climate law
An Obama-appointed federal judge questioned a New York law designed to force polluters to pay for the effects of climate change.
The judge questioned whether the 2024 New York Climate Change Superfund Act encroaches on powers reserved for the federal government.
The law aims to charge fossil fuel producers $75 billion over 25 years, with payments pegged to historical emissions of those companies’ products.
It is a way to fund climate adaptation costs.
Louisiana wants a space port. Building it could get much easier.
Louisiana’s Legislature this year enacted a suite of incentives for private space companies to build new rocket launch and test sites.
The federal agency last week proposed waiving requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and portions of the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.
This would be for commercial space licenses and rocket launches and reentries.
US Drafts Ban on China Data Center Components
The Federal Communications Commission is drafting a ban on imports of some Chinese data center components to protect US data center infrastructure.
The proposed ban aims to prevent Chinese firms from installing malware or stealing data from the data centers that are critical to the artificial intelligence boom.
The ban would include imports of new models of optical transceivers, which help data travel through fiber optic cables inside data centers.
Notes:
This could have implications on construction timelines.
Wave of Hacks Hits U.S. Water Facilities
Water and wastewater utilities in at least seven states have reported cyberattacks in the last weeks.
In some cases this prevented operators from monitoring or controlling equipment.
The FBI said the intrusions caused pressure loss and flooding at some facilities, a failure that can allow untreated water to seep into distribution pipes under certain conditions.
Notes:
Cybersecurity of critical infrastructure is increasingly important.
DOT failing building consolidation effort, watchdog says
Across a portfolio of 189 buildings, DOT has an average utilization of between 37% and 41%, costing it $370 million a year in excess property costs.
It means that the DOT doesn’t come close to meeting the 60% utilization that federal agencies are supposed to meet nor does it have a plan to reach that goal.
Trump Pivoting From Deregulating to Building, Official Says
An official stated that the administration has done enough deregulating.
It can now concentrate on helping the private sector build factories, data centers, mines, and other physical infrastructure.
India
India Approves Incentives to Build 5GW Floating Solar Projects
India’s cabinet approved a 50.7 billion rupees ($531 million) grant to build 5 gigawatts of floating solar capacity over five years.
The government will provide 10 million rupees per megawatt for the plants’ construction.
India currently has about 700 megawatts of such projects.
Notes:
India has set a target to reach 500 gigawatts of clean power capacity by 2030.
This would require 50 gigawatts of new installations each year from sources such as renewables, hydropower and nuclear.
Canada
Carney promises $2.7 billion to build rental homes in Toronto
The federal government says it is investing $2.7 billion to help build thousands of new rental homes in Toronto.
It will go towards 18 planned housing projects in Toronto that are expected to produce more than 5,600 homes.
Nearly 2,000 of which will be affordable or deeply affordable.
Ireland
Major update in Donegal-led EU action on construction materials
Progress has been made in the EU Commission’s infringement proceedings against Ireland over its failure to implement proactive market surveillance of the construction industry.
The Commission noted that a Building Standards Agency is to be formed by the end of 2026 ‘as an interim measure to centralise proactive market surveillance of the construction industry’.
They also outlined how a new Government Body ‘will form the permanent response from Government to address the defective concrete crisis across Ireland’.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong tests thermal drones to catch illegal smoking at construction sites
Hong Kong labour authorities have begun testing an infrared thermal-imaging drone to detect heat sources and illegal smoking at construction sites.
Since the total construction site smoking ban took effect on July 17, about 1,400 have been inspected.
Authorities issued 39 fixed-penalty notices and 11 improvement notices to contractors, while two cases are now undergoing evidence review for possible prosecution.
Scotland
Improving Scotland’s flood resilience
A National Flood Advisory Service will be established to improve Scotland’s flood resilience and embed best practice on a nationwide scale.
The service is one of the actions in Scotland’s first National Flood Resilience Strategy.
Other key actions include:
Work to improve our understanding of how urban and rural landscapes can be adapted for flood mitigation
Support for a broader range of flood actions including smaller flood protection schemes and property level flood resilience
Improvements to how data is used to inform decision making and raise community awareness of current and future flood exposure.
National Infrastructure Projects & Priorities
Europe
EU aims to build AI gigafactories of its own
The European Commission announced a call for tenders designed to generate over €30 billion ($34 billion) in state and private funding for the construction of seven AI gigafactories.
Of the funds, €10 billion will come from the EU and member states while private investors put up the remaining €20 billion.
China
China approves eight new nuclear power units
China’s State Council announced that it had approved the construction of four nuclear power projects comprising eight new nuclear generating units.
Total investment in the projects is estimated at more than 170 billion yuan ($25.18 billion).
Notes:
China approved the construction of 10 new nuclear generating units, with total investment estimated at 200 billion yuan, in 2025.
Big Tech
Microsoft holds the line on infrastructure spending
The company added 31 new data centers this quarter, totaling 88 so far this year.
Notes:
Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google now plan to spend up to $725 billion on capital expenditures in 2026.
Meta Reports Almost $700 Billion in Future Spending Commitments
Meta has $349.3 billion of non-cancelable contractual commitments, mostly related to third-party cloud deals, servers and network infrastructure.
They also have $347 billion in commitments for leases that have not yet started.
That includes $68 billion added in July alone, with payments starting in 2027 and 2028.
The costs are in addition to active leases and consist of data centers, colocations and “certain network infrastructure.”
News
The Coming $2.4 Trillion AI Buildout
Why doesn’t the U.S. have small elevators like Europe and China?
How Data Centers Broke American Politics
How Clean Cement Startups Are Riding the AI Boom
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week.