Kestrel Labs, a Denver startup building AI software that checks architectural plans against municipal building codes, has raised $2.2 million to expand its nine-person team and grow beyond its early customer base. The funding, led by Chicago's New Stack Ventures with participation from Denver Ventures and FirstMile Ventures, arrives as the company reports use by several dozen architecture firms across hundreds of projects since its late 2024 launch.
How a permitting nightmare sparked the idea
Marian Pulford, Kestrel's CEO, encountered the permitting process firsthand while serving as development director for the RiNo Art District, where she helped raise $5 million to build the RiNo Art Park. Her husband, Austin Pulford, is a licensed architect.
"My husband is a licensed architect, and I was talking to him while I was going through that process about why it was so difficult," she said. "He was like, 'Yeah, that's just how it is. It just sucks.'"
The exchange stuck with her. "And everyone is just OK with that? People just think that this is fine? And he was like, 'Well, no one likes it, but we accept it.'" Pulford founded Kestrel later that year, naming it after the small falcon that hunts by hovering close to the ground.
Thirty seconds to flag every code violation
Kestrel integrates directly into the 3D-modeling programs architects and engineers already use. As they draw plans for a restaurant, residential home, or data center, the tool checks designs against local code in roughly 30 seconds.
"We check the entire building in about 30 seconds … and then show you every error," Pulford said. "You can go in and make changes right there. You can ask our AI for an explanation of why this is wrong, what code sections it comes from and how do I fix it?"
The software handles roughly 80% of municipal codes - the provisions that are clear and objective. The remaining 20%, which involve interpretation and judgment, remain better suited for human review. Pulford estimates architects spend up to 20% of their week on code compliance tasks. Across every architect on a project over months or years, the reduction in rework and resubmission cycles cuts substantial costs.
A pricing model tied to project complexity
Firms pay an annual fee for unlimited use, with pricing calibrated to company size and the complexity of their project mix. "A 10-person firm in Frederick, Colorado, doing mostly residential work has a very different compliance picture than a multinational firm with 6,000 architects working on data centers and concert halls," Pulford said. The software costs less than the design tools architects already license, she added, but "more than a ChatGPT subscription."
The company operates out of an office at 18th and California in downtown Denver. Most customers are in Colorado, though architects in Florida, California, New York, and Illinois also use the software. Kestrel is in early discussions with municipalities to integrate its tool into their permitting workflows - putting the same code-checking engine on both sides of the approval desk.
Beyond code compliance
Pulford sees Kestrel eventually operating as a data company spanning all phases of construction, not just code checking. But she is clear that the broader vision depends entirely on executing the current product. "To become that company, we have to do this thing really, really, really well first," she said. "So we don't really talk about the long-term vision of the company because you have to earn that."
Why this matters for real estate and construction professionals
Permitting delays are one of the largest sources of uncertainty in project timelines. A tool that catches code violations during design, rather than during plan review, can cut weeks or months from the approval cycle. For architects and engineers weighing adoption, Kestrel's per-firm pricing and integration with existing 3D-modeling software lowers the barrier to testing whether automated code checks reduce the back-and-forth that eats into billable hours and project margins. As the AI for Real Estate & Construction toolset expands, firms that learn to layer these checks into their workflow now may gain an edge when municipalities begin expecting or requiring digital code compliance submissions.
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