Israel’s FIRMUS Raises $4.5M for AI-Based Construction Analysis

FIRMUS, an Israel-based pre-construction AI and computer vision startup, has raised $4.5 million in seed funding, a report says.

This will help the company vision to bring data-driven decision-making capabilities and AI-based risk management to the early stages of construction projects.

FIRMUS’s work applies “advanced computer vision techniques” to look at construction blueprints and other documents, to help find design issues like missing or incorrect information. Those issues often lead to inaccurate pricing estimates, onsite reworks, delays, scheduling conflicts and legal issues.

“Implementing any design into construction carries risks for all project stakeholders. FIRMUS is here to change that by empowering contractors to effectively assess design completeness, correctness and readiness for construction, so they can bid and build with confidence,” said CEO Shir Abecasis, who is an IDF Unit 8200 alum.

Abecasis has over 20 years of combined experience between her and co-founder/CTO Reuven Amar.

Meanwhile, Travis Putnam, co-founder and managing partner of Navitas Capital, which co-led the seed funding round, said the team had been “incredibly talented.” He said the AI and computer vision tech had been working on cutting down on risk.

“Through an automated approach, FIRMUS delivers tangible value to customers via more efficient construction processes and improved project outcomes.”

In other news about artificial intelligence, PYMNTS wrote that Upstart, the AI lending platform, has plans to debut its new AI-based lending for Salesforce, which plans to add that kind of lending for the financial services industry.

See more: Upstart Debuts AI Lending Platform on Salesforce AppExchange

The service will be available through Salesforce AppExchange, will let bank and credit union staff offer AI-enabled digital lending for customers. That will come either in-person at a local branch over the phone or through using a QR code from the Salesforce Financial Services Cloud.

This service will let Upstart-powered banks and credit unions to work on combining older brick and mortar AI and bank services, and will help streamline lending for those who are able to get it.