Paris-based Leonard, the construction firm Vinci Group's innovation platform, has selected 46 start-ups, established companies and individual projects for its acceleration and support programs in 2023. These programs will foster solutions to challenges related to the environmental transition, safety and productivity in construction and related sectors, according to a press release. 

The Vinci Group aims to accelerate the transformation of industries like infrastructure and transportation in response to climate change. To that end, its incubator Leonard has four programs open to start-ups and more established companies in construction, mobility, energy and real estate.

Leonard’s initiatives include:

• The SEED Program: Supports early stage startups for 6 months to help them get off the ground, grow and find funding for their projects.
• The Catalyst Program: Helps more mature companies deploy their products and services in partnership with Vinci Group companies.
• The Intrapreneurs Program: Supports innovative projects initiated by Vinci employees, with the goal to foster new business opportunities within the Group.
• The AI Program: Aims to identify and develop projects using AI technologies, with a high return on investment for the business units of the Vinci Group.

This round of winners will start working with Leonard this month. Here are the North American companies chosen for this cohort:

Exodigo, San Francisco. Exodigo has developed a non-intrusive subsurface imaging platform that uses multi-sensing fusion and AI to provide a digital geolocated 3D map of buried assets.

Loris, New York City. Loris connects, secures and captures data from industrial jobsites using proprietary portable, temporary light towers that provide Wi-Fi, security and automatic site capture.

Nakina, Ottawa, Ontario. Nakina’s software allows contractors to prioritize, review and qualify leads with minimal time and effort by sorting through planning and development applications using smart filters and by categorizing the site-specific geological profile.

OpenSpace, San Francisco. OpenSpace provides reality capture software, integrations and analytics tools to monitor construction sites and track progress.