Bricks And Bytes

Bricks And Bytes
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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. 7H AGO

    2. How This AI Risk Mitigation Strategy Is Delivering 10x the ROI of Every Other Tool in Construction

    "The biggest mistake a construction exec can make right now? Assuming the existing business model is going to stay the same." In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we had Carl McFarland from Big D Construction and we got to learn about why the industry is sitting in a Blockbuster moment, how Apple generates the entire annual net income of a $30 billion construction firm in under 48 hours, and why the executives paying the most attention to technology might still be focused on completely the wrong thing... and many more! Tune in to find out about: ✅ Why the construction firms performing best right now are actually the ones most exposed to disruption - and what the Blockbuster comparison really means in 2025 ✅ What most construction CEOs are getting wrong about AI adoption - it's not about the tools they're picking, it's about the question they're not asking ✅ Why Carl believes no single firm, no matter how large, has the capital or intellectual firepower to navigate this transformation alone - and what he thinks the answer actually looks like ✅ The AI agent Big D built for project risk review that's delivering 10x the return of standard efficiency tools - a real use case, not a pitch Watch now on Spotify and YouTube 🎧  #aec #construction #constructiontech #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #ai Our Sponsors: 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 BuildVision -   streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb. breadcrumb.co Chapters 00;00 Intro 01:59 AI's Impact on Business Operations 06:08 The Blockbuster Moment in Construction 11:50 Fragmentation and Innovation in Construction 15:50 Rethinking Business Models for Profitability 20:09 Acquisition vs. Internal Innovation 26:06 Technology Focus in Construction Leadership 30:21 Collaboration for Industry Transformation 32:40 Leveraging Supplier Relationships for Capital Investment 41:14 Transitioning from Builders to Business Leaders 51:42 The Importance of Operations in Sales 01:03:39 AI as a Tool for Efficiency and Risk Mitigation

    1h 5m
  2. Executive Briefing: Construction Is the Problem the AI Revolution Didn't See Coming

    4D AGO

    Executive Briefing: Construction Is the Problem the AI Revolution Didn't See Coming

    The world's largest asset manager just wrote a $100M cheque to train electricians. Google put up $50M. Microsoft named electrical talent as the single biggest challenge to building data centres. The firms selling the AI dream just discovered they can't deliver it without construction workers. This week on the Executive Briefing: Why data centre companies are paying $150K starting salaries for skilled trades, and what that means for every contractor drawing from the same labour pool. The real numbers on construction robotics — $1.36B in venture funding, 125% up year on year — and the four workflows where robots are actually working, not just demoing.The Iran oil shock is a second front, not the first. US construction input prices were already running at 12.6% annualised before a single missile was launched. Aaron Anderson's analysis shows 130,000 fewer permits being filed. We break down which sectors are pulling back and which are ploughing ahead regardless.The AI question nobody is asking: the difference between deterministic and probabilistic, why every AI tool you're being sold is fundamentally a guess, and how to know which of your workflows can tolerate that and which ones can't. Plus Anna Berger from Trayd on why 99.7% accuracy still isn't good enough for construction payroll.Quick hits: NEOM's Line is effectively dead, the UK government is abolishing retention payments, and a US jury just ruled social media platforms were deliberately engineered to be addictive. Join the debate:

    28 min

  3. 5D AGO

    NVIDIA GTC: AI Costs Drop 99%, Demand for Trades Surges, and a Payroll Startup Raises $10M in 3 Weeks

    Your construction back office admin hasn't taken a vacation in ten years. And it's your software's fault. In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Patric, Martin, and Dustin break down what four AI CEOs said at NVIDIA GTC and what it means for construction. Then Anna Berger joins fresh off raising $10M in three weeks to expose the chaos inside every specialty contractor's back office. AI token costs collapsed 99% — here's what that unlocks The data center boom is creating a trades crisis — electricians are now the hottest hire in America Why AI will never run construction payroll How Anna closed $10M with 40+ investor meetings in her first week "I just took my first vacation in ten years — thank you." That's the kind of message Anna Berger is getting from her customers. Watch the full episode now! Our Sponsors: 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 BuildVision -   streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:00 Introduction to NVIDIA GTC and AI CEOs  03:38 The Impact of AI on Cost and Accessibility  05:34 Specialization vs. Commoditization in AI Models  07:44 The Role of AI in Engineering and Construction  10:33 Deterministic Outcomes and Governance in AI  13:32 The Future of AI in Enterprises and Job Market Dynamics  23:59 The Role of Accuracy in Construction Projects  28:06 AI vs Human Judgment in Project Estimation  30:52 Evaluating AI Accuracy in Professional Contexts  33:45 The Future of Skilled Trades and Workforce Training  40:24 Economic Predictions and Market Interests  44:59 Quarterly Recap: Trends and Insights in Construction Tech  47:01 Real-Life Lessons from the Industry  51:43 Celebrating Success: Anna's Fundraising Journey  53:53 Understanding Trade: A Deep Dive into Construction Back Office Solutions  56:46 Future Plans: Scaling and Product Development  1:00:46 The Importance of Compliance in Payroll Management  1:03:28 Y Combinator's Role in Construction Tech

    1h 5m

  4. MAR 24

    We Need a Moonshot" - Why AI in Construction Is Focused on the Wrong Problem

    The cost of intelligence is heading to zero. Construction still hasn't figured out what to do with that. In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we had Matt Gough and we got to learn about why AI adoption in construction is solving the wrong problem, what a genuine industry moonshot could actually look like, and why the contracting model itself is blocking real transformation... and many more! Tune in to find out about: ✅ Why 50 senior AEC leaders are all bullish on AI - but almost none of them are using it to change how the industry actually works ✅ The "virtual vertical integration" argument - and whether AI makes what Katerra attempted possible this time ✅ How misaligned incentives across the construction supply chain kill innovation before it gets started ✅ What the Empire State Building can still teach us about project delivery in an AI-enabled world 🎧 Listen now on Spotify and YouTube. #aec #bricksandbytes #construction #constructiontech #ai Our Sponsors: 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 BuildVision -   streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:00 Introduction and context of AI in construction 05:29 The current state of AI adoption 08:10 Challenges in optimizing construction processes 11:17 The role of AI in redefining construction value chains 14:05 Identifying the moonshot for construction 17:07 The importance of collaboration in achieving goals 20:09 The future of AI and construction integration 29:02 Navigating the rapid pace of change 30:22 The moonshot vision for transformation 31:36 Insights from AI in the AEC industry 33:35 Embracing AI: the gym analogy 34:41 Governance and innovation in AI tools 37:22 Shifting from risk transfer to collaborative production 42:50 Overcoming barriers to innovation 47:49 Immediate actions for industry transformation 47:57 Lessons from Neom: ambition and technology

    53 min

  5. MAR 17

    The 135% ROI Contractor | How Top-Quartile Builders Are 11x More Profitable Than Their Competitors

    "The number one cause of contractor bankruptcy is taking on work outside your niche." In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we had Matt Stevens Senior Lecturer at Western Sydney University and we got to learn about the financial patterns behind contractor failure, the metrics most firms never track, and why the construction industry is far more innovative than people give it credit for... and many more! Tune in to find out about: ✅ The risk-reward sweet spot - where most contractors are positioned vs where they should be ✅ Why 144 out of 150 contractors calculated their project ROI completely wrong ✅ The five numbers every contracting business should be tracking (most track zero of them) ✅ How top quartile contractors run 3 to 11 times more profitably than the rest Listen on Spotify and YouTube now. Link in the comments! #construction #bricksandbytes #aec #constructiontech Our Sponsors: 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 BuildVision -   streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:46 Introduction to Construction Firm Success 04:37 Understanding Risk Reward Management 06:07 The Importance of Speed in Construction 12:49 Best Practices for Construction Efficiency 22:53 Navigating the Risk Reward Curve 26:54 Navigating Geopolitical Risks in Construction 30:15 The Importance of Small Projects 33:45 Understanding Contractor Bankruptcy Causes 35:04 Key Metrics for Contracting Success 42:52 Succession Planning and Knowledge Transfer 48:59 Best Practices for Effective Meetings 53:25 The Role of Accountability in Project Management 55:59 Characteristics of High-Performing Contractors 01:00:43 Niches of High-Profitability in Construction 01:00:59 Innovation in the Construction Industry 01:06:34 AI's Impact on Construction and Employee Evaluation

    1h 21m
  6. Executive Briefing: Construction Is Spending Billions on the Wrong Problem

    MAR 14

    Executive Briefing: Construction Is Spending Billions on the Wrong Problem

    50 senior AEC leaders were interviewed about their AI strategies. Every one was bullish. Every one was optimising the same broken system. Not one was rethinking the operating model. That finding sat at the centre of everything that happened this week. This week on the Executive Briefing: Why "don't automate the past" is the most important phrase in construction AI right now, and why the Rule of Five might be the simplest AI policy you've never heard of. Why construction doesn't have a moonshot, why productivity isn't inspiring enough to rally the industry, and what that means for your AI strategy. The Great Split goes transatlantic. $25.2B in US data center starts in a single month. UK industrial construction up 19%. Residential still flat. The UK's largest AI data centre just got approved at £10B. Balfour Beatty hits 3.5% margin on nuclear and defence. And the government is fast-tracking data centres onto the same grid that's supposed to deliver 1.5 million homes. World models: a billion dollar bet on AI that understands physics. Who Yann LeCun is, what AMI Labs is building, and why construction should care even though you can't buy it yet. Three things to do this week. Several questions that are going to split the room. Best LinkedIn comment gets read out next week. Join the debate: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/construction-spending-billions-wrong-problem-owen-drury-02kbe

    24 min

  7. MAR 13

    The Next Biggest Hype in AI is Here + Concrete Robots, Moonshots and Volkswagen Cuts

    "Within six months, every company will call themselves a world model company just to raise money." That's the prediction coming out of AMI Labs — Yann LeCun's $1 billion AI research fund. We spoke about what world models actually are, why they matter for construction, and why the hype cycle is already loading. We also had Lena-Marie Pätzmann from Sitegeist on the show — a TU Munich spin-out building robots for concrete renovation. The use case: high pressure water lancing, deployed as a subcontractor, starting with parking garages. Their robot fits in a van. Their margins are strong. And the customers came to them. Tune in to find out about: ✅ What world models are and why they're different from LLMs ✅ How to evaluate construction software without getting burned by legacy tech stacks ✅ Why Volkswagen just cut 50,000 jobs and what European energy costs have to do with it ✅ How Sitegeist is building robotic concrete renovation from a university lab into a real construction business 🎧 Watch now on Spotify & YouTube #aec #bricksbucksandbytes #constructiontech #ai #construction #bricksbytes #vc #robotics Our Sponsors: 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 BuildVision -   streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.ioChapters 00:00 Intro 01:00 Introduction to World Models and AI Trends  02:03 Industry News: Funding Rounds in AI and Construction Tech  03:10 Personal Updates and Industry Challenges  05:07 The Complexity of CRM Implementation in Construction  07:13 The Role of Venture Capital in Software Development  09:54 Diving into World Models: What Are They?  13:00 Funding and Research in AI: Yann LeCun's Billion-Dollar Round  16:36 The Hype Around World Models and Their Promise  24:24 Understanding World Models: Beyond Chatbots  27:09 Implications of World Models for Construction Industry  44:10 Summary and Closing Remarks

    1h 7m

  8. MAR 10

    Global CTO: “AI Met Construction Where It Already Was - And Everything Changed” | Alain Waha, Buro Happold

    "We built entire cities using PDFs and drawings. That's not a failure — that's a miracle. Now imagine what we build with the right tools." In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we had Alain Waha, CTO at BuroHappold Engineering, discussing AI transformation, the future of physical AI, and why 2026 already feels like three years have passed in nine weeks. Tune in to find out about: ✅ Why construction being the least digitized industry is actually its biggest opportunity right now  ✅ How AI is finally solving the Tower of Babel problem that's plagued AEC for decades  ✅ Why firms need to choose — compete on cost or build a value brand — before it's too late  ✅ Why foundational AI models for the physical world don't exist yet, and what it'll take to get there Catch the full episode on Spotify and YouTube 🎙️ #aec #bricksandbytes #construction #constructiontech #ai Our Sponsors: 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 BuildVision -   streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:10 Introduction and Context of Rapid Change  06:38 Industry Size and Structure  12:29 Historical Perspective on Technology in AEC  17:56 The Tower of Babel Problem in AEC  23:33 Navigating the Future of Work  28:12 Value Creation in a Changing Landscape  32:37 Enhancing the Built Environment with Technology  37:18 The Future of Construction: A Digital Transformation  43:02 Cultural Shifts in Engineering and Technology Adoption  51:46 Knowledge Transfer and the Future of AI in Construction

    1h 5m
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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Bricks And Bytes
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    277
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Bricks And Bytes
  • Show Website
    Bricks And Bytes

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