Klutch Secures $8M to Revolutionize Construction Sites with AI Coworkers

Klutch Raises $8M to Bring AI to Construction Sites

Klutch, a Seattle-based startup, has emerged from stealth with an $8 million seed round led by Bling Capital and Bain Capital Ventures. The company is pioneering the use of AI agents to automate and streamline workflows in the construction industry.

Meet the AI Coworkers

• Archie: Handles zoning and permit reviews.
• Bob: Captures site data from texts and photos.
• Petra: Manages vendor scoring.
• Hailey: Assists with warranty issues.

These AI agents are designed to reduce construction delays, manual work, and data waste by integrating seamlessly with familiar interfaces like WhatsApp, SMS, and email.

Why This Matters

The construction industry faces significant challenges, including labor shortages, inflation, and inefficiencies. Klutch aims to address these issues by leveraging AI to automate key processes and create a company-wide knowledge vault from gathered data.

Industry Reception

"As long as we’re able to prove value and help teams eliminate manual processes and claw back time throughout their day, we find that the construction industry has been very, very receptive," said CEO Xu Rui.

Competitive Landscape

Klutch competes with incumbents like Procure and newer startups leveraging AI in construction. The startup has already begun piloting its technology with Seattle-area customers and recently secured its first out-of-state client in Chicago.

The Team Behind Klutch

Co-founders Xu Rui and Tanin Na Nakorn met while leading ML-based products at Stripe. The 12-person team combines software engineering expertise with industry experience in structural and civil engineering.

Investor Perspective

Ben Ling, founder of Bling Capital, likened Klutch to a "compound startup," solving multiple critical problems for the construction industry.

Klutch co-founders Xu Rui (left) and Tanin Na Nakorn.