Bricks And Bytes

Bricks And Bytes

A show about construction technology, business, and entrepreneurship. Welcome to the Bricks and Bytes Podcast, where we bring together the worlds of construction, technology, and entrepreneurship. We explore the innovative ideas and groundbreaking advancements that are shaping the future of the industry.

  1. Two Things Were Supposed to Save Construction This Year. Neither Showed Up.

    6시간 전

    Two Things Were Supposed to Save Construction This Year. Neither Showed Up.

    This month's recap covers what June 2026 actually meant for the industry, and it was not what anyone had pencilled in. The cheaper borrowing that stalled schemes were relying on did not arrive. The European Central Bank raised rates. The Fed held. The Bank of England held. And a spike in oil above 125 dollars a barrel, triggered by fears over the Strait of Hormuz, made central banks nervous about cutting at all. On the materials side, US tariffs on steel, aluminium and copper are sitting at 50 percent, with non-residential material costs rising at their fastest pace since 2022. One estimate puts 17,500 dollars of added cost onto a single new American home. Both doors closed in the same month. Then the split that was supposed to be temporary. Data centres are now a bigger construction category than offices. But the thing holding that work back is not money, it is power, and grid connections are running five to seven years behind the builds. The boom is real. The gate is megawatts. Plus a full recap of the three June briefings you may have missed, on safety tech, the AI price war, what happens when AI hands your client the knowledge you used to charge for, and why the first piece of reconstruction technology in Ukraine is not a crane. And some trivia. What Gustave Eiffel built inside the Statue of Liberty, and what a Boston World Cup pitch crew found ten inches underground that nobody had touched in twenty years. The LinkedIn comment thread for this episode is where the conversation is happening. Come and tell us where you land.

    21분
  2. 23시간 전

    Palantir’s AI Play, Higharc’s $95M Raise, India’s Construction Boom And OpenSpace’s Spatial AI

    $95M raises, Palantir's sovereignty play, and a debate that nearly boiled over. This one had everything. This week on Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, we sat down with Alain Waha (CTO, Buro Happold), Marc Minor (CEO, Higharc) and Jeevan Kalanithi (CEO, OpenSpace), alongside Owen, Patric, Martin and Dustin, for one of our most heated roundtables yet On the table: → Palantir's new sovereign AI push with Nvidia, and whether "no contradiction between sovereignty and alpha" is real insight or pure marketing → Why Dustin thinks forward-deployed engineers "need to go away" → Higharc's fresh $95M Series C and the case for replacing AutoCAD in homebuilding → Whether the GC is really just an insurance company in disguise → Where OpenSpace is taking spatial AI eight months after acquiring Disperse Full episode on YouTube and Spotify. #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #bricksbucksandbytes #aec #construction #constructiontech #ai #vc Our Sponsors: BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb. - breadcrumb.co Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:40 Alain Waha's Global ConTech Tour: India, US, Canada, UK 03:44 Why the West Underestimates India in Construction 06:36 India vs China: The $7 Trillion Construction Boom 09:25 Palantir vs Anthropic: The AI Sovereignty War 12:42 How Alex Karp Markets Palantir (And Why It Works) 23:47 Why Nobody Understands "Ontology": Palantir Buzzwords Decoded 24:51 Do You Really Need Forward Deployed Engineers? 27:55 Why Construction Is Really an Insurance Industry 29:14 Palantir in Construction: Cavtera, McCarthy and the Data Play 31:37 Higharc's $95M Series C to Replace AutoCAD (Marc Minor) 33:32 How Higharc Serves Home Builders at Scale 37:02 Higharc's Business Model and Home Building Challenges 40:00 Homes as Data: Inside the Higharc x USLBM Deal 46:02 World Cup Banter: US Football and Officiating 46:41 Is Football the World's Greatest Sport? The Debate 49:08 OpenSpace Spatial AI: Agents That See the Jobsite (Jeevan Kalanithi) 55:16 Data Centres and the AI Delusion Killing Startups 01:07:04 What 10 Years as CEO Taught Jeevan Kalanithi

    1시간 11분
  3. 2일 전

    Procore’s Safety Lead On NFC Helmets, AI, And The Future Of Jobsite Safety

    "Even the most digitized job sites still have a binder and a filing cabinet in the trailer." — Juliana Richard Butler, Procore We sat down with Procore's Director of Product for Quality, Safety, and Media as part of our ongoing series on the state of construction safety technology. Her take cuts through a lot of the AI hype: paper isn't going anywhere soon, and the real unlock is reducing friction, not adding more forms. ✅ NFC-enabled Studson helmets can surface certifications with a single tap, no wallet required ✅ Procore's newly acquired Datagrid AI is built to support human intuition on the jobsite, not replace it ✅ Healthcare's forced interoperability offers lessons for construction, but construction's openness to new tools is the advantage healthcare doesn't have ✅ The best safety tech buyers plan 2-3 years out, not around a single RFP Watch now on Youtube and Spotify. Our free Construction Safety Report. Download your copy here: https://bricks-bytes.com/downloads/construction-safety/ #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #bricksbucksandbytes #aec #construction #constructiontech #ai #vc Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:30 How to fix safety on construction sites 01:13 What construction can learn from healthcare safety 04:43 How mobile apps are changing construction safety 07:39 Is construction safety actually digitised yet? 10:23 What safety software really does on site 14:18 Why workers don't adopt safety technology 19:15 The real reason safety tech doesn't get used 24:20 Where Procore fits in construction safety 29:16 How AI will change construction safety 29:17 Will AI replace safety managers? 31:41 Using technology to prevent site accidents 35:08 How to build a safety culture on site 38:55 Why psychological safety matters in construction 39:50 How customers shape safety technology 45:28 Compliance vs productivity in safety tech 50:37 How to choose the right safety technology

    53분
  4. 4일 전

    How Japan’s 220-Year-Old Contractor Is Rolling Out AI Across A 20,000-Person Workforce

    "We don't see the real costs of AI." That's Jean-Marc Frangos, ex-BT in Silicon Valley, now running AI at Shimizu, one of Japan's "Big 5" contractors, founded in 1804. We sat down with him to unpack how a 220 year old builder actually rolls out AI across a 20,000 person workforce. The playbook, not the hype: ✅ Start with your data, not the model ✅ 5,000+ staff on one AI platform in ~7 months ✅ When the subsidies end, undisciplined teams get hit "like a ton of bricks" 🎧 Full episode out now. #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #bricksbucksandbytes #aec #construction #constructiontech #ai #vc Our Sponsors: BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb. - breadcrumb.co Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com 00:00 Intro 00:33 Inside Japanese construction and innovation 05:58 What is a "genecon"? Shimizu and Japan's super contractors 07:49 Sponsors 10:58 From telecom to construction: Jean-Marc's career path 17:11 Japan vs Silicon Valley: how innovation actually happens 22:49 How Japanese construction trains its workforce 27:21 How Shimizu adopts AI and new technology 33:26 Why AI adoption in construction is accelerating 36:11 Specialized AI tools vs general models 38:03 RAG explained: AI data retrieval in construction 41:34 AI model routing to cut costs 43:56 Rolling out AI across a large organization 47:55 AI governance: tracking ROI and real benefits 55:39 The future of construction robotics 59:19 The cultural roots of Japan's innovation mindset 📩 Subscribe to the Bricks & Bytes Newsletter: https://bricks-bytes.beehiiv.com/🌐 Visit our website: http://bricks-bytes.com/📲 Follow us: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bricks-bytes/ Twitter: https://x.com/bricksbytespod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bricksbytes/Enjoying the insights? Hit that Subscribe button to stay ahead in construction tech, AI, and the future of how we build.

    1시간 8분
  5. 6월 26일

    Ukraine's $588 Billion Reconstruction, NVIDIA's AI Factory & The Future of Construction

    Ukraine's reconstruction has been estimated at $588 billion by the World Bank's Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA5), although our guest argues the true figure is likely higher.In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, we speak with Oleg Demydenko, Chair of Ukraine's National ConTech Cluster, about the technologies, engineering approaches and digital systems emerging during Ukraine's reconstruction.We also discuss:* Why Ukraine's reconstruction is currently estimated at $588 billion (World Bank RDNA5)* How new infrastructure is being designed with modular, distributed and replaceable systems* Why Oleg says, "We have no time to sell it. We've already developed a new one."* NVIDIA's AI factory in Ukraine* Why Patric Hellermann believes humanoid robots are an overhyped investment category* Agility Robotics going public via a SPAC after deploying around 100 humanoid robotsIf you're interested in construction, construction technology, AI, robotics, infrastructure and venture capital, this episode explores the ideas, technologies and investment themes discussed by our panel.#construction #constructiontechnology #contech #ukraine #ai #robotics #infrastructure #venturecapitalOur Sponsors:BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb. - breadcrumb.coAphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.coArchdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.comChapters00:00 Intro00:58 What We're Building for the ConTech Community02:01 Wispr Flow Voice AI: Owen's Honest Take03:29 Agility Robotics SPAC: Should Robots Go Public?05:50 How Much Is a Humanoid Robot Actually Worth?09:29 Humanoid Robotics: The Problems Nobody Talks About13:32 Can Humanoid Robots Be Used in War?16:01 Rebuilding Ukraine: The $588 Billion Plan23:32 How the War Is Changing Construction Technology27:36 Modular Steel That Protects Ukraine's Power Grid30:14 Designing Buildings to Survive Attacks32:46 Why Modular Construction Is the Future36:25 How Much of Ukraine Is Actually Destroyed?40:17 Ukrainian Founders: Stop Changing Your Name43:57 Is the Ukraine War Reaching a Turning Point?

    56분
  6. 6월 24일

    SAFETY SERIES: WhatsApp Is Construction’s Most Successful Tech Tool

    "WhatsApp's the most successful construction technology tool ever built." Half a joke, but only half. That's what Prakash Senghani, Co-Founder and CEO of Navatech, told us on the latest Bricks & Bytes. His point: the workers who most need safety tech are the ones it never reaches. So instead of forcing them onto another clunky app, Navatech put its AI inside the tool they already use, in their own language, by voice, or from a photo. A few things that stuck with us: Most "digital transformation" in safety is just paper on a screenYou can't prove a negative, which makes safety ROI brutally hard to show The scariest competitor isn't Procore or Autodesk, it's customers building their own tools with AI Full episode out now. 🎧 #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #aec #construction #constructiontech #ai #vc Our free Construction Safety Report. Download your copy here: https://bricks-bytes.com/downloads/construction-safety/ Our Sponsors: BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb. - breadcrumb.co Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com Chapters0:00 Teaser 1:24 Intro – Why Safety Tech Matters in Construction 4:10 What Poor Safety Really Costs You 5:42 Sponsors 8:43 What Poor Safety Really Costs You (cont.) 10:04 Why Compliance-Only Safety Falls Short 13:16 How Construction Safety Training Is Changing 16:20 Using Technology to Manage Site Safety 19:19 Automating Safety Data Capture 22:17 Bringing Advanced Tech Into Safety 25:24 Getting Crews to Actually Use Safety Software 28:28 Inside the Safety Tech Market 31:08 How to Choose the Right Safety Software 34:08 The Future of Construction Safety Tech

    46분
  7. 6월 23일

    Trimble CEO on AI, Productivity & The Human Problem Holding Construction Back | Rob Painter

    "I don't see this as a technology problem. I see it as a human problem." That's Rob Painter, CEO of Trimble, on what's really holding back AI in construction In this episode he made the case that: ✅ Task productivity is largely solved, system productivity is the real unlock ✅ AI is overhyped and underhyped at the same time, the difference is industry context ✅ The barrier to AI value is organizational, not technical: "It's not AI for the sake of AI" ✅ Across 100+ acquisitions, the thesis still fails if the culture and the people don't work Full conversation on build vs buy vs partner, the Document Crunch deal, and how he runs Trimble. Link in comments. #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #bricksbucksandbytes #aec #construction #constructiontech #ai #vc Trimble Inc: linkedin.com/company/trimble Trimble Construction: linkedin.com/company/trimbleconstruction Trimble Civil Construction: https://www.linkedin.com/company/trimble-heavy-civil-construction Docu Crunch: linkedin.com/company/document-crunch/ Chapters 00:00 Teaser 01:01 Quickfire: Getting to Know the Trimble CEO 03:15 Why Is Construction Productivity So Low? 06:05 How Venture Capital Works in Construction Tech 09:05 What Construction CEOs Actually Want From Tech 12:11 What CEOs Really Say Behind Closed Doors 13:59 Build vs Buy: Acquire or Build In-House? 18:38 What 120 Acquisitions Taught Trimble 20:07 Trimble's AI Strategy Explained 25:54 Is AI Actually Worth It in Construction? 27:59 How AI Drives Productivity and New Revenue 30:18 AI in Construction: Hype vs Reality 32:49 How Hardware and Software Connect on the Jobsite 37:51 How to Actually Innovate in Construction Tech 39:16 Rob Painter's Leadership Philosophy 41:37 Staying Connected While Running a Huge Company 44:23 What a CEO Learns From Other Leaders 47:47 Finding Balance in Nature

    50분

소개

A show about construction technology, business, and entrepreneurship. Welcome to the Bricks and Bytes Podcast, where we bring together the worlds of construction, technology, and entrepreneurship. We explore the innovative ideas and groundbreaking advancements that are shaping the future of the industry.

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