New York City: Cascade, the AI pursuit platform for architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms, has announced a $3.5 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz Speedrun with participation from Ada Ventures, Blitzscaling Ventures, Indico Capital, shuckerVC, G2C Ventures and Snowball VC.
Cascade said its customers — including firms involved in projects such as JFK, LaGuardia, data centers and nuclear facilities — have used the platform to surface more than $10 billion in project opportunities.
In the construction industry, many high-value projects are identified long before a formal request for proposal (RFP) is issued.
Cascade is designed to detect early signals such as bond filings, permits, property transactions, capital plans, earnings transcripts, budget announcements and meeting minutes, and connect them to emerging project opportunities.
Cascade focuses on identifying projects before bids are announced
“Every firm we work with can point to a project they should have won but never even had a chance to see,” said Hannia Zia, co-founder and CEO of Cascade.
“The platform is built around the bottom line: find the right work early, understand where you have a real advantage, and turn that into revenue delivered.”
According to Cascade, the company has signed AEC customers whose work spans major infrastructure, transportation, hospitality and energy projects, including JFK, LaGuardia, luxury hotels, data centers and nuclear reactors.
How Cascade Analyzes Construction Signals
Cascade continuously monitors multiple data sources to identify where construction activity is forming and which firms may be positioned to win the work.
The platform then scores opportunities based on a firm’s fit and surfaces potential relationship paths through tools such as Outlook and other enterprise software.
Tim Johannesson, Principal at Smallwood, the luxury architecture firm behind projects for Four Seasons, Ritz and Hyatt, said:
“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.”
He added: “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.”
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Early customers report revenue impact
Cascade says each customer interaction helps improve the platform’s understanding of which signals matter, which firms are credible for specific types of work, and where teaming opportunities exist.
Alan Ruth, President and CEO of S.A. Casey Construction, a Florida-based general contractor, said: “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.”
S.A. Casey Construction’s portfolio includes work at the Kia Center, Orange County Government facilities and major private developments.
Founded by former Google operators
Cascade was founded by Hannia Zia and Joana Ferreira, who previously worked at Google and later met at UnlikelyAI, the startup founded by the inventor of Amazon Alexa.
At UnlikelyAI, Zia served as VP of Product and Ferreira led the AI platform, working on knowledge graphs and large language model (LLM) agents.
“Hedge funds look at a crazy amount of data to predict stock movements,” said Joana Ferreira, co-founder and CTO of Cascade.
“We use the same logic to predict construction projects.”
Ferreira previously worked as an early engineer at one of the world’s largest trading apps.
AEC firms cite strategic planning benefits
Sarah Sapone Hayes, Director of Strategy & Innovation at FORGE Architecture, said: “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.”
FORGE Architecture has worked on projects including The Battery SF, the VF Outdoor campus and San Francisco’s first net zero energy office.
First customers came through industry relationships
The company said its entry into construction was driven by both personal and commercial factors. Ferreira grew up in a Portuguese town centered on construction and carpentry, while Zia’s father had attempted to start a construction business.
Zia said conversations with CFOs in New York led to Cascade’s first customer, Munoz Engineering, followed by additional customers through industry conferences.
Syed Irfan Raza, CFO at Munoz Engineering, said: “Cascade helps us plan strategically ahead in the highly competitive AEC industry in NYC. The team delivers quickly, and they understand how this industry is built on relationships and trust.”
Munoz Engineering has worked on LaGuardia Airport, Moynihan Train Hall and the Cuomo Bridge.
Funding will expand the Cascade network
The new funding will be used to accelerate adoption and deepen Cascade’s network across the construction industry. The company aims to connect firms with potential bid partners, regional connections and teaming opportunities across the United States.
Marcus Segal, Investor at Andreessen Horowitz Speedrun, said: “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.”
Investors also highlighted the combination of AI capability and industry understanding.
Matt Penneycard of Ada Ventures said: “Hannia and Joana combine deep AI capability with genuine respect for how this industry actually works, and customers can feel that.”
Scott Johnson of Blitzscaling Ventures added: “Cascade quickly grows their customer’s revenue, and the network effects and product-led growth make it a high-potential Blitzscaler.”
Stephan de Moraes, Managing General Partner at Índico Capital Partners, said Cascade is addressing a longstanding challenge in a global construction industry valued at approximately $900 billion.
Long-term vision for Cascade
Cascade said its ambition extends across the full lifecycle of a construction project — from the earliest signal that work is forming, through pursuit, bidding, winning, building and final handoff.
