The construction industry is facing a costly problem. According to a study by Ernst & Young, every year $500B is lost due to errors in project cost estimation.
It takes only a handful of bad bids to wipe out a company completely: around 25% of companies would go broke after just 2-3 bad estimates, but 77% of teams struggle to hire professional estimators at pre-construction.
Toronto-based startup Provision is on a mission to help contractors save with the first AI co-pilot for construction estimators.
The company recently raised a USD $7M funding round in the latest milestone for this Canadian startup.
The founders bringing AI to construction
Co-founded in 2022 by Toronto-based entrepreneur Luigi La Corte, an alumni from the University of Toronto, and Brendan Ardagh, Provision is building the most accurate co-pilot for construction estimators. Luigi, the son of an immigrant General Contractor, and Brendan, a Quantity Surveyor and lifelong software engineer, both saw firsthand the amount of risk and wasted effort contractors face when dealing with complex contracts, and started the company to change that.
Provision makes the job of estimators easier by giving these individuals the ability to answer questions on construction drawings, typically reserved for experienced estimators, quickly and accurately.
The company’s most recent funding round was led by Cercano Management with participation from YCombinator, One Way Ventures and other investors, bringing the company’s total funding to USD $8.7M.
Said Semyon Dukach, Founding Partner at One Way Ventures, “It’s a testament to the strength of the founding team that Provision has assembled such an impressive list of customers while remaining agile.”
Growth opportunities at Provision
Provision is growing rapidly, with nearly 10x growth in 2024 and with some of the largest construction companies as clients in Europe and Canada, including Ferrovial, EllisDon, PCL, Bird Construction, Acciona and Colas.
When it comes to new hires, according to the company, “Provision is a place for hungry and talented individuals to help redefine what’s possible in construction. We’re building a team of people who want to solve hard problems, move fast, and leave a lasting mark on one of the world’s largest industries.”
The company is passionate about providing new team members opportunities to work on cutting-edge AI technology, collaborate directly with builders shaping skylines, and see their work have a real-world impact.
“If you want to make a difference and are passionate about contributing to a mission that matters, join us. Together we’ll build the future of construction—faster, smarter, and better,“ concluded the team at Provision.
They are looking to grow their team, with a list of open roles here.