LeanCon raises $6M to bring AI-driven precision to pre-construction planning
LeanCon, an Israeli AI startup focused on pre-construction, closed a $6 million seed round-double its original target. The raise was led by Ibex Investors with participation from Fusion VC, Newman Architects, TCA LA, Connecticut Innovations, Siegel Capital, and sector-focused angels, including Phil Bernstein (former VP of AEC at Autodesk and deputy dean at the Yale School of Architecture).
The company is building what it calls an AI-powered pre-construction engineering team. Instead of months of manual work that often ends with only 8% of bids moving forward, LeanCon says it can generate detailed pre-construction projections in about seven minutes.
What changes on your desk
- Planning costs cut from roughly $2 million to near zero, according to the company.
- Capacity to price and plan up to 100x more projects per year with 90% accuracy claims.
- Shorter schedules-up to 20% in some cases-plus tighter logistics and real-time cost options.
LeanCon's system uses proprietary data and prior project insight to produce project-specific plans and surface options teams might miss under tight deadlines. The platform is already active across $650 million of development in New York, optimizing schedules, logistics, costs, and construction methods as inputs change.
Why it matters for developers, GCs, and owners
- Bid smarter: Run more scenarios in less time and focus on the packages with the highest win probability.
- De-risk early: Stress-test sequencing, site logistics, and procurement before you commit.
- Margin protection: Identify alternate methods and value options without burning weeks of engineering hours.
Who's behind it
LeanCon was founded by CEO Ziv Levi and CTO Sapir Tubul, both with roots on active construction sites and large-scale engineering teams. The company says its work with one of the largest privately held construction and real estate firms in the United States has matured into a strategic partnership.
Levi said the team rebuilt pre-construction around AI to fit the true complexity of major projects and help teams win more bids while spending less. Phil Bernstein, who initially doubted the concept, said he changed his stance after seeing a live MVP on a Manhattan project and joined as an advisor and investor. Ibex Investors' Aaron Rinberg said the product turns a drawn-out manual workflow into an intelligent, automated process for the industry.
Impact to watch
- Public sector and infrastructure: Agencies are evaluating tools that could reduce overruns and schedule slippage.
- Data integration: Results will depend on the quality of inputs-drawings, schedules, takeoffs, vendor data, and constraints.
- Accountability: Clear audit trails and decision logs will matter for buy-in from estimators, schedulers, and risk teams.
Fast facts
- Round: $6M seed (led by Ibex Investors; Fusion VC, Newman Architects, TCA LA, Connecticut Innovations, Siegel Capital, and industry angels participated).
- Performance claims: Seven-minute projections; near-zero planning cost; plan 100x more projects annually with ~90% accuracy; schedules shortened by up to 20%.
- Current footprint: $650M of projects in New York; strategic U.S. partnership with a top private developer/contractor.
Practical next steps for project teams
- Run a side-by-side test on an active bid: Compare LeanCon outputs to your current pre-con process on scope, schedule, and cost options.
- Choose one high-impact use case first: Logistics scenario planning, procurement sequencing, or schedule compression.
- Align data owners: Estimating, scheduling, and BIM must agree on inputs and acceptance criteria.
For background on the AEC software space, see Autodesk's industry overview (AEC). To build AI skills inside your team, explore role-based training: AI courses by job.
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