Cascade has raised $3.5 million in seed funding to expand its AI platform for architecture, engineering and construction firms. The software monitors early project signals, predicts which opportunities are most relevant to each company and identifies developers or partners they may need to approach before a formal tender appears.
Andreessen Horowitz Speedrun led the round, with participation from Ada Ventures, Blitzscaling Ventures, Indico Capital Partners, shuckerVC, G2C Ventures and Snowball VC. Cascade said the funding would support product development, engineering recruitment, industry events and wider commercial adoption.
Platform Tracks Projects Before Tenders Appear
Construction firms often search across separate federal, state, city, county and district portals to find work. Cascade collects information from bond filings, permits, capital plans, property transactions, budget announcements, earnings transcripts and meeting minutes.
Its software connects those signals to projects that may still be months or years from a formal request for proposals. It then scores each opportunity based on a customer’s experience, location and likelihood of winning.
For example, when a state announces funding for affordable housing, Cascade can review earlier grants and identify developers that previously secured similar awards. Customers can then approach the developers before subcontracting and consulting work becomes widely advertised.
The platform also examines existing relationships in services such as Outlook to identify possible introductions. Each bid outcome provides additional feedback that Cascade uses to refine its project recommendations.
Customers Surface $10 Billion in Opportunities
Cascade said customers have used its platform to identify more than $10 billion in potential projects. Its clients include firms whose previous work covers JFK and LaGuardia airports, data centres, nuclear facilities and luxury hotels, according to the company’s official funding announcement.
Smallwood principal Tim Johannesson said the platform helped his architecture firm find and win a $6 million project it might otherwise have missed. Cascade has not provided a detailed breakdown of the $10 billion opportunity figure.
Founders Draw From AI and Construction Experience
Cascade was founded in 2025 by Chief Executive Hannia Zia and Chief Technology Officer Joana Ferreira. The former Google employees met while working at UnlikelyAI, where they developed knowledge graphs and AI agents.
Both founders also had family connections to construction businesses that struggled to secure predictable work. Ferreira said Cascade applies methods similar to those used by financial firms that combine large datasets to identify possible market movements.
The founders joined Andreessen Horowitz’s Speedrun programme in September. Cascade plans to use the new capital to increase sales activity and hire engineers as it competes with established construction intelligence services such as GovWin IQ and ConstructConnect.
Featured image credits: Magnific.com
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