Bricks And Bytes

"Architects might start feeling useless."

That's Dimitrie Stefanescu, founder of Speckle, on this week's Bricks & Bytes — on why GCs moving upstream into design is triggering an existential crisis across AEC.

Joined by Jit Kee Chin, CTO of Suffolk Construction and co-founder of Suffolk Technologies, who just led Suffolk's investment into Speckle.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why 3D data is the missing infrastructure layer for AI in construction

✅ The real reason design-build is eating traditional architecture

✅ The most insane thing a customer has built on top of Speckle (yes, you'll want to hear this one)

✅ What actually triggered a $B GC to bet on an open-source startup

Watch now on YouTube and Spotify!

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

Every building you've ever been in was designed by software built in 1997.

That's the headline a16z used to put the bat signal out to AEC founders — and Joe Schmidt got dragged for it on LinkedIn.

But he's not a tourist. His grandfather invented the concrete pump.

In today's episode of Bricks & Bytes, we had Joe Schmidt from Andreessen Horowitz and got into the three attack vectors for disrupting Revit, why the services layer is the hidden prize… and many more!

Tune in to find out about:

✅ The 3 ways startups are attacking Autodesk's "workflow monopoly" — and which one Joe would bet on today

✅ Why replacing Revit in 5 years is unlikely (and why you don't need to)

✅ The real "why now" for AEC AI — it's not just LLMs

✅ Joe's advice to contractors and designers: adopt fast or get left behind🎧 Full episode out on Spotify and YouTube!

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:20 Introduction to A16Z and Joe Schmidt's Background

05:00 Understanding A16Z's Investment Philosophy

09:29 The Construction Industry's Potential and A16Z's Interest

15:57 Thesis Overview: Innovation in Construction Tech

20:21 The Role of AI in Transforming Construction

25:45 Challenges and Opportunities in Construction Tech Adoption

25:52 The Evolution of Design and Budgeting in Construction

31:34 Incentives and Rework: A Double-Edged Sword

37:38 AI's Role in Enhancing Design Efficiency

42:12 The Human Element in AI-Driven Design

47:51 Navigating the Future of Construction Technology

#aec #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #construction #bricksbucksandbytes #constructiontech #vc #revit #autodesk #a16z

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Allbirds just pivoted to AI and the stock jumped from $2 to $21 overnight.

This week on Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Mo (founder of Build Crew, backed by Vinod Khosla) joined us to break down what's actually happening in construction tech right now — and Nitin from Planera dropped in to launch their AI scheduling assistant, Manny.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why Allbirds' AI pivot looks like a 1999-style dotcom scam

✅ Mo's unfiltered take on why knowledge graphs are the most overhyped term in AEC right now

✅ Why Palantir's real construction customer isn't who you think it is

✅ How Planera's Manny is codifying decades of scheduling expertise before the industry loses it

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

#aec #construction #constructiontech #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #bricksbucksandbytes #ai #vc

Our Sponsors:

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

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

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:00 Introduction to Mo's Transformation

03:57 The Allbirds Pivot: From Sneakers to AI

07:00 Technological Breakthroughs in Architectural Design

09:50 AI in Construction: The Role of Domain Expertise

12:51 BuildCrew: Mo's New Venture and Its Vision

15:35 Knowledge Graphs: The Future of Construction Documentation

25:11 Integrating Knowledge Graphs in Construction

27:39 The Role of Technologists in Construction

29:18 Palantir's Impact on Construction Technology

31:09 The Future of ERP Systems

34:45 Challenging Industry Norms with Optimism

38:25 Nemechek's Acquisition of HCSS

42:39 Planera's AI Scheduling Assistant

53:27 Current Trends in Construction and AI

The business you build around it is. The AI you buy isn't the advantage

The man who built Facebook's computer vision team says reading a construction drawing is harder than what he was doing at Facebook. That line reframes the whole AI conversation in construction and it's just one of the threads in this week's briefing.

In this episode:

The procurement story we've been building. A number of the research findings that will make commercial construction executives uncomfortable in a productive way. Full report drops 24th April - sign up here.

Shadow AI is your governance crisis. A senior leader at a major US general contractor describes his single biggest fear around AI... and it's not the technology. It's Bob in pre-con. Plus Maryrose Lyons on why your company data is walking out the door via your staff's phones, and nobody's written a policy about it.

Data-readiness is the ten-year moat. Three different AI founders, three different domains — procurement, scheduling, drawings — all saying the same thing. The value doesn't sit in the AI. It sits in the connected data around it. Why the firms pulling ahead aren't buying better AI. They're preparing better businesses for it.

The divergence moment. Opus 4.7 was released this week. But there's a model sitting next to it on the benchmark chart called Mythos, and it's significantly more capable than anything on the market. It's not available to you. It's not available to me. And it's the live, in-the-wild evidence that the AI world just split into two tiers. Why this matters for any construction business thinking about the next three years.

If this briefing was useful, share it with someone in your leadership team who needs to hear it. Drop your take in the LinkedIn comments — I read every one.

This week's sources include:Lubo Bourdev & Hamid, PrimePoint - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDdK18qzQwg

Maryrose Lyons, AI Institute - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev6oPUWYgzA

Nitin Bhandari, Planera - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTnsWQLN4aQ

Bricks & Bytes procurement research report (drops 24 April). https://bricks-bytes.com/downloads/procurement-report/

PrimePoint just raised $10M to solve the one problem AI still can't crack in construction: drawings.

Lubomir Bourdev built the first computer vision system at Facebook. Sold a neural net startup to Apple. Hamid was employee five at Trello. Now they're betting that drawings are the key to unlocking AI's full potential in construction.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why LLMs fundamentally can't handle technical drawings — it's an architecture issue, not a capability gap

✅ How PrimePoint's Knowledge Graph connects drawings, specs, RFIs, submittals, and schedules

✅ How AI does the first pass on constructability reviews, RFIs, and submittals — and why humans still make the call

✅ Why early users are actually spending more time understanding their projects, not less

Watch the exclusive episode on Bricks & Bytes YouTube Channel now. Link in the comments below.

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

Our Sponsors:

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

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

"If you're a small firm saying you're too busy to think about AI — that's career suicide."

Maryrose Lyons trains mid-sized architecture, engineering and construction firms across the UK and Ireland on AI — and she's seen exactly what separates the ones making progress from the ones going nowhere.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why firms between 50 and 500 staff are outpacing the big players — and what mid-market consultants can steal from their playbook

✅ Why your staff are probably using free AI tools on their personal phones right now — and what that means for your client data

✅ Why hiring AI champions almost always backfires — and what actually drives real change inside a consultancy

✅ The data problem that will quietly kill your AI ambitions in 2026 before they even start

🎙️ Watch the full episode on Bricks & Bytes Youtube Channel

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

Our Sponsors:

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

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

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:45 Introduction to AI in AEC Sector

03:39 Current State of AI in Mid-Sized Firms

06:15 The Challenge of Shadow AI

07:23 AI Literacy and Training in Organizations

08:38 Engagement with AI Tools

11:37 Practical Steps for AI Adoption

13:31 Connecting AI with Existing Tools

16:26 The Evolution of AI: From Chatbots to Advanced Tools

18:52 Streamlining Workflows: The Impact of AI on Productivity

22:14 Navigating AI Implementation: Challenges and Strategies

28:29 The Role of Champions in AI Adoption

31:09 Emerging Trends: The Future of AI in Business

92% of construction projects overrun their budget. And the data now says the main reasons are inside your organisation, not outside it.

This week: we tease findings from our upcoming supply chain report (the numbers will make you uncomfortable). We get an economy update from ABC's chief economist. We break down how one insurance company is cutting premiums for contractors who use construction technology, with 40-50% differences in claims data to back it up. And we unpack workforce benchmarks from 233 companies and 114,000 people that reveal what the top ENR firms are doing differently.

Three things you can action this week. No fluff.

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

1. Sign-up link for the Bricks & Bytes Supply Chain & Procurement Report (dropping 24th April) - https://bricks-bytes.com/downloads/procurement-report/
2. Revizto "Bridging the Gap" 2026 Digital Design & Construction Report - https://revizto.com/resources/reports/bridging-the-gap-2026
3. ENR article: "Data Centers, AI Drives Industry Momentum in First Quarter" (Anirban Basu Q1 forecast) - https://www.enr.com/articles/62803-data-centers-ai-drives-industry-momentum-in-first-quarter
4. Bridgit 2026 Construction Workforce Benchmark Report - https://gobridgit.com/press/constructions-labor-shortage-is-hiding-a-deeper-problem-new-bridgit-data-from-114000-workers-shows-what-it-is/
5. Shepherd Insurance (shepherdinsurance.com) and Justin Levine's article "The Case for Autonomous Underwriting" - https://www.shepherdinsurance.com/blog/the-case-for-autonomous-underwriting
6. Our newsletter — link to new Beehiiv subscription page - https://bricks-bytes.beehiiv.com/
7. LinkedIn post for this episode (for comments/engagement) (coming shortly) - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/insurance-company-pay-you-use-procore-heres-how-can-benefit-drury-szv9e?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_series_entity%3BS1rWDPyISRqB5K4ooAtnzQ%3D%3D

"AI told them the idea was great. They built the whole thing. It was wrong."

In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Martin and Dustin unpack why AI models are built to agree with you — and why that's genuinely dangerous in construction. 

They also tear apart the claim that 96% of projects overrun on budget (spoiler: it's not a design problem), then sit down with Justin Levine, CEO of Shepherd Insurance, fresh off a $42M Series B, to talk about what it actually looks like to automate commercial insurance from the ground up.

Watch now to uncover:

AI sycophancy, MIT's "delusional spiraling" research, and the real-world construction risks

Why budget overrun stats might be measuring the wrong thing

Shepherd's vision for fully autonomous underwriting — and how they're already running at 5x industry capacity

The plan to price a commercial insurance submission in real time, during a live broker meeting

"By the time that meeting ends, we want that account to be fully priced and ready to go." — Justin Levine, CEO, Shepherd Insurance

Watch the full episode on Bricks, Bucks and Bytes YouTube Channel. Link in the comments. 

#aec #construction #constructiontech #bricksbucksandbytes #bricksbytes #ai #insurance #vc

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:00 Delusions Spiraling: The Impact of AI on Perception 

24:42 Budget Overruns in the AEC Industry: A Deep Dive 

29:53 The Role of Technology in Construction: Enhancing or Hindering? 

30:09 Understanding Budget Overruns in Construction 

32:51 The Role of A16Z in Construction Tech 

36:09 Shepherd's $42 Million Series B Funding 

42:02 Autonomous Underwriting: A New Era in Insurance 

49:26 The Future of Brokers in Construction Insurance 

53:13 Self-Insurance and Risk Management in Construction 

01:01:25 The Benefits of Autonomous Underwriting for Clients

Two major acquisitions landed in one week. Trimble bought Document Crunch. Autodesk closed on Rhumbix. And the message is the same: the platforms you already use are getting smarter, faster, and harder to leave.

In this week's Executive Weekly Briefing, Owen unpacks what the consolidation wave means for your technology decisions, why UK construction input costs just hit a 41-month high, and a practical framework from a 31-year industry veteran that separates AI efficiency from AI risk mitigation, and why the returns are wildly different.

Plus: a big announcement about our first ever live event with Professor Martin Fischer from Stanford University in London on April 21st. https://luma.com/o0rcei5v

Covered this week:

• Trimble acquires Document Crunch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LApKTPQXFKQ&t=76s
• Autodesk closes Rumbix acquisition - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI7eD7f7aVY&t=147s
• The Buildots/Genda productivity intelligence play
• ServiceTitan data: AI adoption doubles among contractors
• UK input cost inflation hits highest level since 1992
• Carl McFarland on construction's Blockbuster moment - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-cO-6zxKdE
• The efficiency vs. risk mitigation AI framework
• MIT research on AI sycophancy and delusional spiraling
• Bricks & Bytes first live event: Professor Martin Fischer, London, April 21st

New episodes every week. Subscribe and follow Bricks & Bytes wherever you listen.

Join the debate:

Four companies. One acquisition. One $852 billion valuation. Forty-five minutes turned into four days. This is the biggest episode we've ever recorded.

Document Crunch just got acquired by Trimble. Josh told us live, before most of the industry knew.

In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Patric, and Dustin cover the biggest week in construction tech in years.

Trimble acquires Document Crunch — Josh and Mark join live to break it down

OpenAI hits $852B — and Dustin explains why NVIDIA should be worth $10 trillion

Dustin's $275M Building Connected exit story — the grind nobody talks about

Coral's $7.5M raise — guaranteeing heat pump rebates to the cent in under 60 seconds

Neuron Factory — taking tender processes from 4 days to 45 minutes with AI

"You can't vibe code trust. That's earned." — Josh, Document Crunch

Go and watch the full episode on the Bricks & Bytes YouTube Channel now

Our Sponsors:

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

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

01:09 Introduction and Excitement for the Episode 

03:46 OpenAI's Valuation and Market Comparisons

06:30 Understanding Notional Value and Market Capitalization 09:36 Foundamental University Launch and Insights from Industry Leaders 

12:18 Dustin Devan's Journey with Building Connected 

18:19 Challenges and Resilience in Startups 

20:22 Trimble and Document Crunch Acquisition Announcement 

22:08 The Journey to Acquisition 

25:19 Trimble's Perspective on the Partnership 

28:10 Future Strategies and Innovations 

29:44 Celebrating Milestones and Achievements 

30:47 The Importance of Culture and Alignment 

34:52 Building Trust in the Industry 

37:37 Navigating the Competitive Landscape 

41:33 The Role of Trust and Data in Construction 

49:24 Vision for a Dispute-Free Industry 

51:01 Industry Responsibility and Improvement 

51:42 Innovations in Heat Pump Technology 

54:35 Understanding the US Heat Pump Market 

57:24 Future Opportunities in Energy Efficiency 

1:00:35 Funding and Growth Strategies for Startups 

1:03:18 The Role of Knowledge Graphs in Construction 

1:08:25 Enhancing Project Management with AI 

1:12:29 Challenges and Opportunities in AI Integration