Last Week in ConTech - 20 October 2025
How Do We Capture Tribal Knowledge in Construction?
Deep Insight: How Do We Capture Tribal Knowledge in Construction?
One of the structural challenges in construction is the labor force shortage. According to the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), nearly 500,000 workers will be needed in 2025.
But beneath this lies a deeper issue, knowledge loss.
An aging workforce means decades of experience are leaving the industry each year. While new programs aim to boost labor supply, they can’t replace the tacit expertise built over decades on site. The knowledge of how to solve field problems, adapt designs or manage unpredictable conditions isn’t being captured. And once those workers retire, it disappears.
In construction, this challenge appears to be structural.
Years of experience is the main currency of competence and there is an order of magnitude difference between an engineer with 10 years vs 3 years experience. They’ve seen more and built pattern recognition that can’t be quickly taught. Practically, it takes years for new entrants to gain knowledge and then even longer before they can lead teams or make major decisions.
But the industry is starting to shift and there’s two trends I’ve been noticing focused on accelerating workforce development:
Formalized Mentoring Roles
More contractors are finding ways to keep senior expertise accessible. They’re increasingly offering flexible work from home arrangements for retiring engineers and supervisors to act as on-call mentors for project leadership as well as offering live support to site teams. Equipped with Starlink connections and digital communication tools, they’ve become a remote knowledge hub offering decades of experience when it’s needed most.
Capturing Tribal Knowledge Through Video
AI tools are starting to codify hands-on expertise:
Squint converts videos into interactive “how-to” guides that workers can follow for maintenance or assembly tasks.
Worktrace observes how people operate on their computers, identifies repetitive actions, and automatically builds process maps or automations.
These same principles could apply to video from the field. Construction sites already utilise reality capture footage from drones or CCTV. The challenge isn’t collecting the data but in making it usable.
Soon, we’ll be able to query this visual archive the same way we prompt uploaded documentation.
An engineer might ask, “Where should we place trimmer bars before the pour?” and the system could search across hundreds of project videos, identifying where trimmer bars were installed and suggest placement around pit lids to control cracking, tagging the projects where it occurred for reference.
As AI matures, we’ll move from manual documentation to autonomous learning systems that map workflows, decisions, and outcomes into institutional knowledge graphs. And these systems will begin to encode how organizations build streamlining onboarding and accelerating knowledge transfer.
In this issue there are:
13 Startup Fundings
11 Policy and Regulatory Changes
8 New National Infrastructure Projects & Priorities
0 New investment funds
1 Acquisitions
5 News articles
39 new jobs posted - view here
Reading time: 10 min
Startup Funding
Scheduling
Planera, a Californian startup, raised $8m in funding with Brick and Mortar Ventures investing. They develop visual based scheduling and planning software with the funding to be used to expand adoption in the data centre segment. More here.
Risk
nPlan, a London startup, raised $16m in Series B funding from investors including Suffolk Tech. They enable teams to tackle risks and improve their project controls function, using a data set of over 750,000 completed project schedules to help companies plan (create new schedules), assure (forecast activity uncertainty), de-risk (risk register) and deliver (track risk themes) projects with reduced risk. More here.
Climate Risk
Iris, a San Francisco startup, raised $3.5m in Seed funding. They have built a climate risk and resilience modelling engine for the built environment which combines hazard data with detailed building engineering models to simulate how climate extremes will impact assets and how interventions will perform. More here.
Notes:
The startup was spun out of Arup, a global engineering and built environment consultancy.
Estimating
Provision, a Toronto startup, raised $7m in Seed funding. They are building an AI copilot for construction estimators, providing the ability to answer complex questions on construction drawings helping to identify risks, opportunities, scope gaps and more. More here.
Bidding
revitalyze, an Austrian startup, raised funding (undisclosed). They have developed an AI tool for tender analysis, helping estimating teams review tenders faster and identify risks and inconsistencies to make bid/no-bid decisions. More here.
Construction Management
SymTerra, a UK startup, raised £1.1m in funding. They have developed a mobile first communication platform allowing users to capture photos, videos and structured site updates from the field in a secure and manageable way, replacing the use of WhatsApp on sites. More here.
Building Materials
ClearVue Technologies, an Australian company, raised AUD$4.6m. They have developed a patented glass and building materials technology integrating solar generation into building facades, rooftops, claddings and more to power buildings. More here.
NxLite, a Michigan startup, raised $9.2m in Series A funding. They manufacture energy efficient window coatings which reduce energy consumption and weight. More here.
Compliance
eviFile, a UK startup, raised £1.6m in funding. They are building a process management and data coordination platform for the built environment, helping teams digitize processes to deliver real time results and tracking, assisting with project controls, compliance, quality & assurance and more. More here.
Asset Management
Titan4, an Italian startup, raised €4m in Series A funding. They are building an Earth intelligence platform for infrastructure monitoring that combines satellite imagery, climate models and ground sensor data to assess the health of critical infrastructure such as bridges, dams, energy or transport networks identifying anomalies, deterioration and risk patterns early. More here.
Prisma Photonics, an Israeli startup, raised $30m in funding. They have built a fiber sensing technology which uses a smart sensing acoustic system to turn fiber optic cables into intelligent grid monitors of long range infrastructure such as pipelines, power grids and more, detecting and tracking threats like wildfires, ice, wind and physical damage. More here.
Space Construction
Space Quarters, a Japanese startup, raised $5m in funding. They are developing space construction robots and electron beam welding systems for assembling large scale infrastructure in orbit and on the lunar surface. More here.
Notes:
Conventional approaches for space infrastructure require launching preassembled structures.
Space Quarters use robots to assemble and weld pieces together.
As this technology is proven and matures, it could have applications on terrestrial construction sites.
Other - FinTech
Bees & Beers, a German startup, raised €5m in Seed funding. They have developed a platform allowing craft installers to offer customer installment purchases for solar systems, heat pumps, and battery storage using real time credit checks. More here.
Policy and Regulatory Changes
US
Interior denies canceling largest solar project in U.S. after axing review
The U.S. Department of the Interior has canceled its broad environmental review for the seven individual projects that make up the 6.2-GW Esmeralda 7 solar project.
It will now review and permit each project individually.
Esmeralda 7 is set to be the largest solar project in the U.S. by capacity.
Notes:
The project’s NEPA environmental review was stalled since Donald Trump took office.
As each project must now be approved individually, it is unclear how long this will take.
Trump’s cuts to billion-dollar hydrogen hubs rattle industry
Last week, the Department of Energy rescinded $2.2 billion in awards to two of the seven regional hydrogen hubs established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
This week, a second Energy Department list indicates the agency is considering whether to pull funding from all seven hydrogen hubs.
California Establishes First-in-the-Nation Policy for Safe Indoor Temperatures
This bill requires state agencies to achieve a maximum safe indoor temperature standards in residential housing in the face of worsening extreme heat.
California’s residential building standards have long required that homes maintain a minimum indoor air temperature of 68° F.
There is no requirement for a maximum indoor temperature leaving residents vulnerable to heat waves.
California to invest $226M in offshore wind ports amid federal cuts
Last month, California state lawmakers also authorized $225.7 million in spending for offshore wind ports and related facilities.
The construction of supportive ports and transmission systems in California is critical to deploying commercial floating offshore wind.
California Contractors Get Long-Awaited Change Order Relief as Newsom Signs Landmark Reform Bill
Under a new law when a contractor submits a written change order for extra work on a private project, owners must issue a written response within a set period, typically 30 days.
If the owner fails to respond, the change order is deemed approved.
The law also establishes a streamlined process for claim resolution, aiming to reduce disputes and the risk of litigation that can tie up payments and resources for years.
New California Law to Issue Housing Permits in 30 Days
AB 253 allows home builders to hire licensed, third-party professionals to review permits when local governments exceed the 30-day timeline established by the new law.
It applies to housing projects of 10 units or fewer, and with 4 stories or fewer.
California Gets “Shot Clock” for Housing Inspections
AB 1308 establishes California’s first statewide “shot clock” for final home inspections.
The law requires local building departments to complete final inspections within 10 business days of the completion of residential projects of 10 homes or fewer.
These are required for the “certificates of occupancy” that allow people to move in.
Gavin Newsom signs law overhauling local zoning to build more housing
The Governor of California signed off on Senate Bill 79.
This allows apartment developers to build more homes within half a mile of major rail, subway, and bus rapid transit stops.
It overrides local zoning restrictions and any possible objections of surrounding neighbors.
Buildings immediately surrounding these transit hubs will be entitled to max out as high as nine stories, with those farther out topping out at roughly four.
California Raises Minimum Payout for Wildfire Victims’ Items
Families who lose everything in future wildfires in California will now be able to collect the bulk of their insurance payout without cataloging every item.
Starting in 2026, insurers must pay at least 60 percent of a homeowner’s personal-property coverage, up to $350,000, without requiring a detailed inventory of every lost item.
Notes:
This change could impact restoration contractors as insurance payout timelines are shortened.
India
India Plans Agency to Fix Flaws in Infrastructure Projects
India plans to set up a federal Transport Planning Authority to coordinate infrastructure projects and curb wasteful spending.
The new body will oversee development across aviation, highways, shipping, rail and urban planning, aligning various ministries to improve project viability and avoid delays.
The Cabinet clearance for the proposal may take three to six months.
Notes:
India is spending tens of billions of dollars on an infrastructure build-out as it tries to become a developed nation by 2047.
Canada
B.C. government introduces prompt payment legislation
Bill 20, the Construction Prompt Payment Act, sets clear payment timelines for construction projects.
It sets the deadlines as 28 days for owners to pay general contractors and seven days for contractors to pay subcontractors.
It includes an adjudication system for disputes.
National Infrastructure Projects & Priorities
Global
Global investment in renewables hits record even as US falters
Over the first six months of this year, a total of $386 billion flowed to projects ranging from small rooftop solar installations to massive offshore wind farms.
That’s 10% higher than what investors doled out in the first half of 2024.
In the US spending was down by 12% compared to the first half of last year.
China
World’s first commercial underwater data centre with 1,433-ton cabin goes live
China has reportedly launched the world’s first commercial underwater data center in Hainan.
The project places data servers inside a massive 1,433 US tons underwater cabin.
It aims to reduce the heavy energy costs associated with traditional land-based data centers.
It does so by using seawater as a natural coolant.
Notes:
Cooling can account for up to 40% of a data center’s total energy consumption.
China to begin building highly costly, strategically vital Hotan-Lhasa railway line next month
The railway line links Hotan in East Turkestan (Xinjiang) with Tibet’s capital Lhasa.
It is 1,980km (1,230 miles) long with extreme engineering challenges, traversing mountain ranges, glaciers and permafrost zones at altitudes averaging above 4,500 metres (14,764 feet).
The total investment could reach 400 billion yuan (US$56.2 billion) or about 200 million yuan (US$28.1 million) per kilometre.
India
Google to spend $15 billion on AI data centre in biggest India investment
Google said it would invest $15 billion over five years to set up an artificial intelligence data centre in India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
Google has committed to spending about $85 billion this year to build out data centre capacity.
Argentina
OpenAI, Sur Energy weigh $25 billion Argentina data center project
OpenAI and Sur Energy have signed a letter of intent for a data center project in Argentina requiring an investment of up to $25 billion.
The project would involve a large-scale facility with a capacity of up to 500 megawatts to support advanced artificial intelligence computing.
UK
Britain Lost Over 1,500 Homebuilders in Past Year on Weak Demand
The number of housebuilders in Britain is in decline for the first time in a decade.
This impacts the government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes.
Some 1,904 developers were either in administration or in the process of being wound up over the same period.
Kenya
Kenya’s Ruto Unveils $31 Billion Infrastructure Investment Plan
Kenya plans to spend about $31 billion over the next decade on large infrastructure projects, including road, railway, airport and power projects.
The projects will be financed through a national infrastructure fund.
This comes as the president states they require:
An additional 10,000 megawatts of power generation to underpin industrialization.
They require 50 new mega dams to irrigate more than 2 million acres of farmland.
They want to build 10,000 kilometers (6,210 miles) of new roads.
East Timor
East Timor expects construction of first large solar plant to start next year
Japan’s Itochu Corp and Electricite de France (EDF) will jointly develop a 72-megawatt solar power plant and a 36-MW battery energy storage system in Manatuto.
The solar plant will help Southeast Asia’s poorest nation, also known as Timor-Leste, slash expensive imports of diesel, which almost entirely fuel its power grid currently.
Acquisitions
Buildots, an Israeli startup that offers a platform to track construction progress, acquired Genda, a Texas startup which offers a construction management solution, helping teams to monitor their job site, seeing who is on site, where they are and what they are doing. More here.
News
Bechtel Expects 10 US Reactor Projects With New Shared-Risk Model
The US may have as many as 10 large nuclear power plants under construction within five years.
Bechtel is currently evaluating its process for estimating project costs. That comprises three main areas:
The engineering work
The procurement of materials and equipment
The actual construction.
The company has been involved in designing, building or providing services for more than 150 nuclear plants around the world, and more than 80% of the US fleet.
French Construction Giants Find Relief Beyond Troubled France
France’s biggest construction and building materials companies are shifting away from the domestic market due to slower investment and the threat of higher taxes.
Vinci still has 42% revenue exposure to France, while Bouygues has 49% and Eiffage 65%.
Saint Gobain, meanwhile, is focusing on Brazil and India as key emerging markets.
North Korean Scammers Are Doing Architectural Design Now
AI data center boom has to contend with realities of tough labor market
ABC’s construction backlog data shows that 14% of the group’s members are under contract to perform work on data centers.
It indicates there’s a backlog of 8.5 months on projects.
Systems of Work Are Eating Systems of Record
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week.