The Austin Chapter of the Associated General Contractors (Austin AGC) and Mercator.ai, a leading construction technology provider, today announced a groundbreaking partnership designed to empower contractors with AI-aggregated knowledge, dramatically reducing weeks of project pursuit research into mere minutes. Founded in 1946, the Austin Chapter of AGC has been a driving force of innovation in the construction industry in Central Texas. Through initiatives like the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), the Austin AGC continually fuels leadership and best practices within the industry. This partnership with Mercator.ai reflects AGC's dedication to advancing construction growth and excellence, ensuring their members are equipped with the best solutions to charge their business and workforce performance.

Solving the common and costly problem of finding out about viable construction projects too late, Austin general contractors and other construction professionals can swiftly access emerging projects at the earliest stage, gaining detailed insights into the who, what, where, and scale of each project to optimize their project acquisition strategies and significantly improve team productivity. Mercator’s AI-powered business development streamlines access to vital early-stage construction signals in real-time that are typically fragmented and out-of-date. These include identifying key project participants and historical relationships to target qualified and strategically aligned leads. Austin AGC member-exclusive benefits include complimentary early project detections weekly, customized project profiles, and pipeline analysis. Members will also benefit from preferred pricing for the Mercator.ai solution. Additionally, Mercator.ai will acquire and rebrand the BuildIt Permits app, providing immediate value to subscribers with aggregated, real-time knowledge that surpasses the delayed and limited insights provided by most data sources.

"The Texas commercial construction market undoubtedly presents enormous opportunities for growth, innovation, and collaboration and Austin itself is a boomtown market," said Chloe Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Mercator.ai. "Just in the last three years, downtown Austin has added over 40 new developments, expanding the skyline by almost 14 million square feet.” 

Smith continued, "Our purpose is to elevate construction excellence through transparent knowledge, and our partnership with Austin AGC aligns perfectly with that vision. Their longstanding reputation and commitment to innovation, leadership, and responsible construction growth make this partnership a win-win. Launching an AGC partnership with Phil Thoden here in Austin has been such a collaborative and positive experience - I can’t imagine a better place to start.’

The 2024 Texas commercial construction market is poised for continued and substantial growth, with the commercial building construction industry in Texas expected to grow at an annualized rate to reach $22.3 billion over the next five years. As the highest-ranking state in the U.S. for overall contributions of commercial real estate to state GDP, Texas leads the nation with significant investments and developments, making this partnership timely and strategically important. Austin, the 11th largest city in the United States, is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, with its GDP nearly doubling since 2010, having the highest population growth of any major metropolitan area, and also ranked highly by real estate investors as a place to develop.

“The Austin AGC is excited to partner with Mercator.ai to bring their groundbreaking technology to both our member firms and the Austin construction industry as a whole. We are committed to staying at the forefront of construction technology innovation and our partnership with Mercator.ai is a testament to this intention," said Phil Thoden, Austin AGC President. Speaking about the benefits of this partnership, he added, “The real-time, AI-aggregated knowledge across every facet of every project - past and present - delivered by Mercator.ai empowers contractors to eliminate inefficient hours of time manually performing leads research and focus on what truly matters – building relationships and winning projects. This partnership optimizes our members' business growth strategies and furthers Austin's role as a leader in adopting cutting-edge construction technologies.”

Mercator.ai, which launched in the Austin market on April 17th, 2024, is transforming construction business development as the industry continues to evolve through new entrants and new work practices. With customers including Bartlett Cocke General Contractors and DIRTT Environmental Solutions, Mercator.ai is empowering general contractors with real-time knowledge to elevate new business strategies, expedite relationship connections, and transform front-office operations to seize early opportunities fast.