NEW YORK, July 22, 2026 — Construction companies often rely on fragmented public records, government portals, and industry relationships to find new projects. Cascade, a startup founded in 2025, is building an AI-powered platform designed to simplify this process by helping architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms identify upcoming opportunities and determine where they have the strongest chance of winning contracts. The company has raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz Speedrun, with participation from Ada Ventures and Snowball VC. The funding will support product development, industry outreach, and the hiring of additional engineers as Cascade expands the platform.

Founded by Hannia Zia and Joana Ferreira, Cascade grew out of personal experiences with the difficulties construction businesses face in securing a consistent flow of work. Ferreira’s mother worked for a company that sold materials to construction businesses, while her uncle built luxury homes in the Middle East. “They’re incredible at their craft but just don’t have access to the right tools to get more work,” Ferreira told TechCrunch. Zia also recalled how her father struggled to establish a construction business in Pakistan because he could not secure enough projects to sustain operations. Those firsthand experiences shaped the company’s vision of helping contractors, architects, and engineering firms spend less time searching for work and more time pursuing opportunities that match their expertise.

Modernizing Project Discovery Across Construction

For many AEC firms, identifying new contracts requires searching through dozens of state, city, district, county, federal, and private-sector procurement portals. Each agency operates separate systems, making the process time-consuming even for companies with extensive business development resources. Zia described the traditional process as a “constant treasure hunt,” according to TechCrunch, noting that firms must search multiple websites to locate projects suited to their capabilities. A contractor specializing in suspension bridges, for example, may need to monitor opportunities from transportation agencies across several states before finding suitable projects.

Cascade addresses this challenge by gathering project information from a wide range of public and private sources and organizing the data into a single platform. Artificial intelligence then analyzes current and upcoming projects alongside historical procurement records to identify opportunities that align with a company's experience and specialties. The platform also studies previous tender results to determine which developers or contractors are most likely to secure future projects. Drawing information from government agencies, local districts, federal programs, and private contracts, Cascade gives customers early visibility into opportunities that might otherwise remain scattered across disconnected procurement systems.

AI Analyzes Data to Identify Promising Opportunities

Once a company joins the platform, Cascade evaluates the firm’s previous work, technical capabilities, and areas of specialization before identifying projects that closely match those strengths. The system also examines historical procurement data to identify recurring patterns that can help customers prioritize potential opportunities. For example, if a state announces a $100 million affordable housing grant, Cascade reviews previous funding cycles to determine which developers secured similar grants and identifies those most likely to succeed again based on historical information.

“We connect that data, and we tell our customers: ‘Most likely one of these five developers will win this newly announced grant, so go start talking to them to win projects,’” Ferreira told TechCrunch. Rather than requiring firms to manually review hundreds of procurement portals and contract notices, the platform delivers recommendations supported by historical data and predictive analysis. Customer feedback also strengthens the technology over time. Whenever a client wins a bid, that information becomes part of the platform's learning process, allowing future recommendations to reflect real-world outcomes while refining future project and business development recommendations.

Funding Supports Growth and Product Expansion

The founders joined Andreessen Horowitz’s Speedrun accelerator after applying in September, describing the experience as an important milestone during the company's early development. Participation in the accelerator increased Cascade's visibility while providing opportunities to present the platform to customers and investors. Following the program, the startup secured contracts with firms involved in major construction projects, including JFK and LaGuardia airports, Four Seasons hotels, and data centers. According to Zia, Speedrun also helped establish credibility with larger construction organizations.

The newly secured funding will support additional engineering hires, further product development, industry events, and commercial expansion across the United States. Construction companies have traditionally depended on referrals, established relationships, and manual research to identify new projects. Cascade is introducing artificial intelligence into that process by organizing procurement information, identifying historical patterns, and helping customers direct their business development efforts toward organizations that are more likely to award future contracts.

Building a Data-Driven Resource for the AEC Industry

Cascade operates alongside established construction intelligence platforms such as GovWin IQ and ConstructConnect, although Ferreira believes the company's AI-first technology offers a distinct advantage. Every successful customer bid contributes additional information to the platform because customers provide feedback after winning projects. That ongoing flow of information allows the technology to refine future recommendations while building a more detailed understanding of procurement activity across the construction industry.

“Every time a customer wins a bid, they give feedback, so the system keeps getting smarter. Over time, we’ll have a complete map of the industry that our AI can traverse to predict the best projects and leads for each customer,” Ferreira told TechCrunch. By bringing together procurement data, historical contract outcomes, and company-specific capabilities, Cascade is creating a platform designed to help architecture, engineering, and construction firms identify suitable opportunities with greater efficiency. As adoption grows and additional project information becomes available, the company expects the platform to deliver more accurate recommendations and provide construction businesses with greater visibility into future project opportunities.