Dive Brief:
- Smartvid.io, the construction safety artificial intelligence platform, has announced a new $5 million round of funding, bringing the total the software company has raised to $21 million.
- Smartvid.io uses AI to address risks and improve jobsite safety, cutting incident rates by as much as 50% for major contractor clients, including Suffolk, Skanska and Barton Malow, the firm says.
- In recent months, Smartvid.io has used data to help understand COVID-19 responses by region, which helps contractors benchmark their programs to understand where they can improve jobsite health and safety.
Dive Insight:
Investors for Smartvid.io’s newest round of funding included Sony Innovation Fund and IA Capital Group, joined by prior investors Building Ventures, Companyon Ventures and Converge, among others.
Smartvid.io’s AI interface, dubbed “Vinnie,” uses an image-based system to flag potential risks on jobsites. Partnering with Suffolk last year, Smartvid.io used the contractor’s data to show Vinnie could predict roughly one in five incidents with 85% accuracy. In April, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Smartvid.io enabled Vinnie to recognize when workers were not socially distancing or wearing masks on jobsites. Using cameras it’s connected to on the jobsite, Vinnie works as a virtual construction safety officer, to ensure workers follow proper protocols.
Smartvid.io joins the ranks of several contech firms that have seen an influx of funding in 2020, with the sector on track for 56% year-over-year growth.
One of the firms that recently received funding also offers AI-influenced solutions for contractors. Alice Technologies said it uses AI to develop and evaluate construction project schedules that use resources most efficiently, substantially reducing build time and costs.
The firm claims its technology can create millions of schedule options for large projects in minutes and can adapt schedules to account for material or labor shortages, noise ordinances or social distancing protocols.
The firm landed $4.6 million in debt financing in November, led by Future Ventures.
