by Arnie Gess, president of Construction Links Network

What happens when AI stops simply answering questions and starts participating in the work? That transition is becoming increasingly visible across construction and the built environment.

This week’s stories include AI helping manage submittals, process bills, perform takeoffs, coordinate restoration projects and automate back-office workflows. We’re also seeing digital twins evolve toward intelligent operating systems and connected project data become the foundation for automation. Construction’s digital workforce is beginning to take shape and the implications are worth watching.

Have news to share? We’re always looking to spotlight forward-thinking companies and ideas. Submit your ConTech or PropTech updates by Tuesday end of day for next week’s edition.

Arcadis has expanded its collaboration with Autodesk to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence, connected data and digital workflows across the built and natural environment while keeping human expertise central to project delivery. The collaboration combines Arcadis’ engineering, design, sustainability and project expertise with Autodesk’s Design and Make platform and Autodesk AI, including Autodesk Assistant. Arcadis is also connecting its Model Context Protocol (MCP) capabilities with Autodesk Assistant, enabling company knowledge, standards and guidance to support AI-powered workflows while Arcadis retains ownership of what it develops. Joint initiatives include See Through Walls, which uses AI, sensor data and predictive modeling to assess hidden building conditions and support material reuse, circularity and decarbonization. Arcadis says existing AI and automation initiatives are already improving efficiency, including one example where automated quality reviews reduced a five-day process to approximately half a day. The expanded collaboration aims to improve project decision-making, quality, resilience, productivity and delivery consistency while ensuring AI outputs remain grounded in project data and professional judgment.

Bluebeam has made Bluebeam Max, its most advanced subscription tier, available at no cost to eligible students and educators worldwide, expanding access to AI-powered tools used by architecture, engineering and construction professionals. The academic offering enables universities, colleges, technical schools, training institutions and registered apprenticeship programs to incorporate AI-assisted review and automation into construction and design education. Bluebeam Max includes Smart Review, Smart Overlay, Magic Markups, Stitching, intelligent document comparison, automated markup generation and Revu connected to AI through Model Context Protocol (MCP). The tools are designed to automate repetitive tasks, identify design changes, improve collaboration and extract insights from project documents. Bluebeam says the initiative will help students develop career-ready digital skills as AI and automation become increasingly integrated into AEC project delivery. Its global academic program already supports institutions including Linköping University in Sweden and Green Mountain High School in Colorado, where students use Bluebeam technology for hands-on construction, design and project-based learning.

Brickeye, a construction risk intelligence company, ranked No. 66 on The Globe and Mail’s 2026 list of Canada’s Top Growing Companies after achieving 425% three-year revenue growth, up from 159% when it first appeared on the list in 2023. The company attributes its growth to increasing demand for technology that helps owners, contractors and insurers manage construction risks involving water damage and concrete. Brickeye applies risk intelligence from preconstruction through construction and occupancy, helping project teams identify potential problems, reduce rework and delays, and manage insurance exposure. The company says its technology has been deployed on more than 4,500 projects across over 20 countries, with expanding water-risk operations in North America and concrete applications on major infrastructure projects internationally. Brickeye plans to continue investing in its technology, expertise and global expansion as construction companies increasingly look to identify and manage project risks earlier.

Kahua, an AI enterprise construction platform for complex capital programs, has secured a minority growth investment from Bain Capital Tech Opportunities at a valuation above $1 billion after reaching $100 million in annualized revenue. The investment will support Kahua’s continued expansion, including AI and product innovation, go-to-market initiatives, customer success and talent development. Kahua serves more than 2,500 customers and supports over $400 billion in capital programs across sectors including government and defense, transportation, healthcare, education, energy, digital infrastructure and data centres. Designed for large, highly regulated and mission-critical projects, the platform connects people, processes and data across the asset lifecycle, from funding and planning through construction and long-term operations. Kahua says its governed project data provides the context required to integrate AI into capital program workflows and decision-making. The investment comes as infrastructure owners and delivery teams face increasingly complex projects while seeking to replace fragmented systems with connected construction and capital program management platforms.

Jacobs has been selected by NVIDIA to deploy its Data Center Digital Twin at a large-scale U.S. artificial intelligence research and development facility under a three-year software-as-a-service agreement. Built on NVIDIA Omniverse libraries, the platform combines engineering models, operational technology and live facility data to create a real-time environment for monitoring, simulation and infrastructure optimization. The digital twin will support applications including dynamic power load balancing, energy forecasting, liquid coolant leak detection, predictive maintenance and operator training, while allowing teams to model changing AI workloads and assess power and cooling performance. Jacobs is also developing the technology beyond visualization and simulation toward what it describes as an intelligent operating system for AI factories, where AI agents can learn from facility data, predict conditions, recommend actions and increasingly optimize operations. The NVIDIA project builds on Jacobs’ broader work supporting AI, high-performance computing and advanced data centre infrastructure in the U.S. and internationally.

Miter, an AI-powered workforce management platform for construction, has raised $40 million in Series B financing led by Battery Ventures, bringing its total funding to $78 million. Existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Coatue also participated. Miter plans to invest the funding in AI products for construction back-office and jobsite operations while expanding its engineering and go-to-market teams. The platform connects workforce management, payroll, field operations, job costing and expenses, with customers ranging from small and midsize contractors to major firms including Clayco and Haugland Group. Miter is also expanding into safety, accounts payable and project intelligence. Its AI capabilities can structure information from invoices, receipts and pay-rate tables, automate administrative workflows, identify labour and job-cost trends, create safety reports from photos or voice notes and summarize jobsite status. Since announcing its Series A in May 2025, Miter says it has tripled its customer count as it works to replace fragmented construction software, spreadsheets and paper-based processes with an integrated platform.

Buildertrend has introduced new AI-powered construction management capabilities designed to help home builders, remodelers, commercial contractors and specialty contractors manage increasingly complex projects and growing businesses. New tools include AI Submittals for managing submittal logs and approval workflows, AI Bill Capture for extracting information from bills and receipts, AI Client Updates for drafting customer communications and AI Plans for organizing plan sets. Buildertrend is also expanding document control through automated page naming, revision tracking and Bluebeam integration, while new financial capabilities include Sage Intacct integration and AIA-style progress invoicing. A redesigned mobile app brings project management, communication, time tracking, documentation, estimating, proposals and job costing into the field. Buildertrend says more than 20,000 builders currently use its platform. The company is positioning its expanding AI, financial and document management capabilities as a way for contractors to reduce administrative work, improve project coordination and maintain consistent project and financial information as their operations grow.

Flynn Group of Companies, a major North American building envelope contractor, has selected IFS Cloud to support more than 6,000 employees across Canada and the United States while creating a stronger foundation for AI and automation. Flynn operates across construction, manufacturing and service, including roofing, waterproofing, architectural metals, glazing and building services. IFS Cloud will provide a shared operational platform designed to connect data, processes and decision-making across these business areas while improving operational consistency, data quality and governance. The deployment will include customer relationship management and enterprise asset management capabilities, providing greater visibility across customers, assets and operations. Flynn also plans to use IFS Loops agentic digital workers to automate accounts payable through intelligent document processing and workflow automation. The initiative is intended to help Flynn scale its operations without adding unnecessary complexity while establishing the connected data and standardized processes needed to apply Industrial AI and automation across the organization.

ConstructConnect has launched ConstructConnect Takeoff, a new AI-powered, browser-based construction takeoff platform designed to help contractors and estimators move from architectural plans to measurable quantities faster. Built on the company’s experience with On-Screen Takeoff, PlanSwift and Takeoff BOOST, the platform works on Mac and Windows through a web browser without requiring desktop software. ConstructConnect Takeoff includes the Takeoff BOOST suite of AI automation tools, including Auto Name, Auto Scale and Auto Takeoff, which can automatically organize and scale drawings and generate reviewable quantities from construction plans. Auto Takeoff uses AI to identify and measure linear, area, count and volume objects, including walls, rooms, ceilings, doors, windows, plumbing fixtures, concrete slabs, footings and foundations. Estimators remain responsible for reviewing and adjusting AI-generated results before completing their takeoff. The platform also supports plans and specifications, annotations, CSV exports and PDF output. ConstructConnect says future development will expand AI automation and add browser-based estimating capabilities, including materials, labour costs, items and assemblies.

Wingtra has introduced Network Corrections, a new software feature designed to simplify high-accuracy drone surveying by reducing the need for physical GNSS base stations. Enabled by Trimble Applanix POSPac PP-RTX, the feature automates GNSS processing directly through Wingtra software using Trimble’s network of permanent reference stations, multi-constellation GNSS, CenterPoint RTX, IonoGuard protection and automated datum management. Wingtra says Network Corrections can provide absolute accuracy below 3 cm horizontally and 6 cm vertically while also serving as a fallback when a local base station fails or is unavailable. Operators can apply the correction after a flight through Wingtra software, reducing field setup and the risk of returning to refly a site because of base station problems. Combined with Wingtra’s SURVEY61 and GCP-free workflow, the technology is intended to streamline repeat earthwork, greenfield and high-frequency construction surveys while allowing experienced survey professionals to focus more time on quality control, analysis and project planning. Network Corrections is initially rolling out to beta customers using WingtraPRO and Wingtra UNLIMITED.

TRUERESTORE has integrated Ripple, its new AI project coordinator for restoration contractors, into every job on its platform after its 130 contractor customers surpassed 50,000 projects. Ripple works from each project’s field documentation—including moisture readings, drying logs, LiDAR scans, 360-degree photos, videos and crew notes—to provide job-specific assistance by voice or text. The AI can track drying progress, identify missing photos or moisture maps, review equipment remaining on site, draft scopes of work, log work notes, update project status and generate loss, photo and moisture reports. Office teams can also use Ripple to identify projects approaching dry goals, missing documentation or ready for estimating and billing. TRUERESTORE says every proposed change requires user confirmation, keeping contractors in control of project updates. Available to all TRUERESTORE customers at no additional cost, Ripple demonstrates how AI can use structured field data to support documentation, project coordination and administrative workflows in restoration and mitigation operations.