Cascade has raised $3.5 million to expand its artificial intelligence platform for architecture, engineering and construction firms. The financing included Andreessen Horowitz Speedrun, Ada Ventures, Blitzscaling Ventures, Indico Capital, shuckerVC, G2C Ventures and Snowball VC.
Cascade helps firms identify construction projects before formal requests for proposals are released. The company continuously analyzes early indicators that a development, infrastructure project or renovation may be taking shape.
These signals include bond filings, building permits, government capital plans, property transactions, earnings transcripts, budget announcements and public meeting minutes. Cascade connects the information to potential projects and the organizations that may be involved.
Construction firms often begin developing relationships and forming project teams months or years before a formal bidding process. Identifying an opportunity early can give a company additional time to evaluate the project, approach decision-makers and assemble partners.
Cascade scores potential projects based on how closely they fit a customer’s capabilities, experience and relationships. The platform is designed to help firms focus on opportunities they are more likely to win rather than spending resources on every available bid.
The software can also identify potential introductions through contacts and relationships stored in Outlook and other business systems. This allows users to find colleagues, partners or industry contacts who may provide a path into an opportunity.
Cascade said its customers have used the platform to identify more than $10 billion in potential projects. Its users include firms involved in airports, data centers, hotels, government facilities and nuclear projects.
Smallwood, an architecture firm whose portfolio includes work for Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton and Hyatt, said Cascade helped it find and win projects, including a recent $6 million opportunity. Other customers include S.A. Casey Construction, FORGE Architecture and Munoz Engineering.
The platform improves as customers record which projects they pursued, which signals proved relevant and which opportunities resulted in successful bids. Cascade can use that information to refine its project recommendations and identify potential teaming relationships.
Cascade was founded by CEO Hannia Zia and CTO Joana Ferreira, who previously worked at Google and later at UnlikelyAI. At UnlikelyAI, they worked on knowledge graphs and large language model agents designed to navigate large collections of information.
The company applies predictive methods commonly used in financial markets to construction business development. Rather than attempting to predict stock movements, Cascade analyzes diverse datasets to estimate where new construction work is likely to emerge.
The funding will support broader adoption of the platform and expansion of Cascade’s industry network. As more firms participate, the company plans to connect general contractors, designers, engineers and other specialists that may be able to pursue projects together.
Cascade’s longer-term ambition is to support the full lifecycle of a construction project. This would include detecting the earliest signs of an opportunity, supporting the pursuit and bid process, and helping teams manage work through final delivery.
KEY QUOTES:
“Every firm we work with can point to a project they should have won but never even had a chance to see. Cascade is built around the bottom line: find the right work early, understand where you have a real advantage, and turn that into revenue delivered.”
Hannia Zia, Co-Founder and CEO of Cascade
“A project broke ground a few blocks away from me. I’ve been in the industry for 30 years, I didn’t even know it was out for bid.”
“Cascade has now helped us respond to and win more projects, including a recent $6M project, that I was only able to find through Cascade.”
Tim Johannesson, Principal at Smallwood
“Cascade has become a valuable partner in how we review plans, organize project information, and identify opportunities more efficiently. The platform continues to improve, and a single successful project can deliver a return that exceeds the cost for years.”
“We are pleased to have adopted the technology early and to be helping shape how AI can be used in the construction industry.”
Alan Ruth, President and CEO of S.A. Casey Construction
“Hedge funds look at a crazy amount of data to predict stock movements. We use the same logic to predict construction projects.”
Joana Ferreira, Co-Founder and CTO of Cascade
“Business development in AEC has always run on relationships, timing and institutional memory. Cascade gives us a systematic way to see the opportunities that matter, a credible path into them, and far less manual work behind every pursuit.”
Sarah Sapone Hayes, Director of Strategy and Innovation at FORGE Architecture
“Construction is one of the largest markets in the world, and the way firms find and win work has barely changed in decades. Cascade starts with a painful revenue problem. That is a powerful wedge into how construction work gets pursued, partnered on and delivered.”
Marcus Segal, Investor at Andreessen Horowitz Speedrun
