Seven men carrying one 140kg steel bar, on the biggest infrastructure project in Britain. The founder of Laing O'Rourke saw it and concluded that in fifty years, nothing had changed.

This week's Executive Briefing is about the man he hired to fix it. Chetan Kotur designed cars at Volvo, launched Polestar globally, then spent three and a half years looking at construction with outsider's eyes. At our private fireside in London this week, he shared his diagnosis on the record for the first time.

In this briefing:

• The industry that innovates daily or dies, versus the industry that fears innovation might kill it
• Why nobody in construction checks what competitors are doing (and what Polestar did instead)
• 56% of construction injuries are musculoskeletal. No other industry still accepts this
• Hinkley Point C: how a precision rebar factory turned a month of work into a single shift
• The pattern across Europe: Laing O'Rourke's lab, Bouygues' Scale One, Vinci's hired field, and why testing grounds are multiplying as construction's innovation wave goes physical
• From a Paris stage: investor Patric (Foundamental) on why tech aimed at 2% of construction's cost base was always going to disappoint
• The two questions that expose a weak tech vendor in five minutes
• A first look at our State of Construction Safety Tech report, landing next week: incidents consume 4 to 6% of project cost in an industry running 2 to 3% margins

A venture capitalist walks into a bar.

"I'll have what everyone else is having."

Patrick told that joke about his own profession on this week's Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, and it set up the sharpest exchange of the episode: venture stopped backing hard problems and started buying momentum.

We're joined by Alain Waha, CTO of Buro Happold, and Richard Fifita, CEO of Veyor, fresh off a $7.5M Series A, alongside Dustin DeVan.

What we get into:

→ Autodesk's $3.6 billion all cash acquisition of MaintainX, and why Dustin, who watched this strategy take shape from inside Autodesk, says it all leads back to the digital twin

→ "Knowledge arbitrage": Alain's framework for what stays defensible when knowledge becomes computable

→ Why construction robotics needs systems integrators more than it needs humanoids

→ How Veyor went from backed up concrete trucks to managing deliveries at JFK, SFO and major data center projects

Full episode is live now on YouTube and Spotify.

#bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #bricksbucksandbytes #aec #construction #constructiontech #ai #vc

Our Sponsors:

BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb. - breadcrumb.co

Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co

Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:30 Introduction and Technical Challenges

03:21 Live Streaming and Event Experiences

06:13 Autodesk's Acquisition of MaintainX

11:50 Data Ownership and Predictability in Construction

16:23 Knowledge Arbitrage in Engineering and Robotics

20:00 Exploring Knowledge Arbitrage in Robotics

22:06 The Role of Systems Integration in Construction Robotics

22:54 Challenges in Robotics for Construction Trades

24:16 Collaborative Robots: The Future of Construction

25:59 The Disconnect Between Innovation and AI in Construction

27:30 Testing Software vs. Materials in Construction

27:45 The Reluctance to Experiment in Construction Tech

29:52 Capital Efficiency and Technology Adoption in Construction

32:49 The Venture Capital Landscape and Its Challenges

36:33 The Future of Venture Capital in Technology

44:46 Innovative Event Planning in Construction Technology

47:26 Branding and Customer Perception in Construction

48:11 Disruption in Construction: Insights from Automotive Industry

51:09 Bouygues' Innovation Lab: A New Era for Construction

51:53 Introducing Richard: Veyor's Journey and Innovations

56:59 Streamlining Material Management in Construction

01:01:58 Challenges in Construction Scheduling and Delivery

01:05:36 The Aussie Tech Scene in Austin, Texas

"AI won't help you if you're still using clunky software with a six-month learning curve." – Anita Venkiteswaran, E3 Tech

In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we sat down with Anita, the driving force behind E3 Tech's AI-powered M&A strategy in construction, alongside two of her platform companies: Rob Metz (Sylvan) and Chris Weaver (Egan).

Tune in to hear about:

✓ Why 25,000+ specialty contractors represent a massive M&A opportunity

✓ How AI is finally solving construction's 40-year productivity decline

✓ What jobsite credibility really means for founders building construction tech

✓ Why unified AI systems beat fragmented "point solutions" every time

Available now on Spotify and YouTube.

#aec #construction #constructiontech #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #ai #vc

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:39 Introduction to E3's Model and AI in M&A

07:41 Identifying Ideal Acquisition Targets

10:34 The Role of Technology in Modern Construction

13:45 The Entrepreneur in Residence Model

16:35 The Impact of AI on Construction Efficiency

19:52 Building Relationships with AI Startups

22:29 The Future of AI in Construction

31:59 Leveraging AI for Contract Management

32:42 The Evolution of VDC and BIM in Construction

34:14 Enhancing Processes with Robotics and AI

35:38 Attracting Talent through Technology

36:38 AI Amplifying Human Expertise

38:35 Transitioning Businesses and Succession Planning

40:12 Navigating Business Ownership Transitions

42:42 The Necessity of Adapting to Change

46:41 Lessons Learned from Technological Implementation

48:18 The Future of AI in Construction

53:44 The Importance of Unified AI Solutions

55:31 Integrating AI with Emerging Technologies

58:27 Opportunities for Collaboration in the Industry

"You could get 60 reviews of a pizza in six seconds, but finding a new contractor takes 12 months and spreadsheets."

That's how Riggs Kubiak described the construction industry in 2011 when he started Honest Buildings as a marketplace to connect owners with contractors.

It didn't work.

The pivot? A project management platform that became so valuable, Procore acquired it.

We sat down with Riggs to talk about what killed the original idea, what saved the company, and why the phase of entrepreneurship nobody prepares for is what comes after the acquisition.

His new book "Earned" launches June 2nd. Buy it here.

The real conversation:

✓ Why dominating a small category beats chasing everyone's problems

✓ The execution hell of building two-sided marketplaces

✓ What nobody tells you about life post-exit

✓ The founder moments that don't make it into LinkedIn posts

Watch the full episode now on YouTube and Spotify.

#bricksandbytes #constructiontech #entrepreneurship #founders #aec

Our Sponsors:

BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb. - breadcrumb.co

Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co

Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:28 Introduction and Journey to Honest Buildings

04:49 The Evolution of Honest Buildings

11:10 Navigating the Pivot: Lessons Learned

13:41 Sales Cycle Challenges in Construction Tech

13:42 Sponsors

16:44 Sales Cycle Challenges in Construction Tech

28:45 Reflections on Key Mistakes and Difficult Times

30:57 Acquisition by Procore: The Journey Ahead

34:02 Closing the Gap in Construction Management

35:38 The Importance of Negotiation in Acquisitions

39:34 Navigating Post-Acquisition Roles

42:00 The Entrepreneurial Residence Experience

46:39 Founders Forum: Building Community

48:45 Understanding Acquisition Motivations

53:20 Reflections on the Integration Process

56:13 The Journey of Entrepreneurship

1:02:33 Life After Acquisition: The Next Chapter

Missed an episode of the Executive Briefing last month? This is your ten-minute catch-up.

Four stories from the last four weeks, what each one means for your business, and which are worth going back to in full.

Inside:

• The new kind of buyer circling construction, and why they want your firm, not your tech
• The market split the banks have started to price in
• The contractor who killed his ERP, his dispatch system and his time cards, and rebuilt on one platform
• Why AI got 280 times cheaper while everyone's bills went up

No longer form this week (I have been busy in France!! - more on that soon). Just the month that mattered, in plain English, for people who run construction businesses.

Which of the four hit hardest? Tell us in the comments on the LinkedIn post.

"80% of the decks landing on her desk had AI on slide one."

This week on Bricks & Bytes we sat down with Jennifer Davis, who recently joined Suffolk Technologies after five years as Managing Director of Techstars Boston, where she reviewed thousands of applications and ran 65+ companies through the program.

She brought the kind of pattern recognition you only get from saying no a few thousand times.

Tune in to find out about:

✅ Why the bar has risen across pre-seed, seed, and Series A — and what VCs now want to see before they write a check

✅ The co-founder mistake that kills more startups than bad ideas (and why 50/50 equity splits are a red flag)

✅ Why "not all money is created equally" — and how founder-unfriendly terms signed early can derail an exit years later

✅ What Jennifer is looking for as she takes the reins on Suffolk's Boost accelerator, and the founder profile she'd most want to back in 2027

Listen on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube 🎧

#aec #construction #constructiontech #bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #ai #vc

Our Sponsors:

BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb. - breadcrumb.co

Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co

Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:00 Introduction to Jennifer Davis and Transition to Suffolk Tech

04:09 Insights from Techstars Boston

07:01 Key Traits of Successful Founders

10:06 Challenges in the Startup Ecosystem

12:57 The Importance of Problem-Solution Fit

15:57 The Role of AI in Startups

18:51 Generalist vs. Vertical VCs

21:57 Navigating the Built World Space

25:08 The Future of Construction Technology

27:53 Suffolk Tech's Boost Program

31:03 Advice for Founders in the Current Landscape

33:54 Conclusion and Future Outlook

This week in construction: the official verdict on HS2 landed, and it's worse than most people realise. Cost to complete is now £87.7-102.7bn. First services delayed to 2036. Britain is paying 15-20x the European rate per kilometre for high-speed rail.

But the more interesting stories happened underneath it.

Owen breaks down what every construction executive needs to know about three things colliding this week.

One. The AI cost paradox. Per-token prices have dropped 280x in two years. So why are enterprise AI bills exploding? OpenAI just doubled its flagship rate card. Anthropic raised prices without touching the rate card at all. The pricing page is no longer telling you what your bill will look like. And Jean-Marc Shimizu, who runs open innovation at one of Japan's top five contractors, says the subsidy era is ending.

Two. The construction robotics story almost nobody outside venture capital is reading. After sixty years as the last unautomated sector, the robots are finally shipping. Bedrock raised $270m in February. Crewline took $7m as a four-person team with a $26m order book waiting. Rebar tying robots are running at 4-6x human speed. Solar piling, reality capture, and a new category of self-verifying installation robots are all generating real revenue. Plus the corrective on humanoids that most executives haven't heard yet.

Three. HS2 and what it actually means. Three reviews, twelve months, same five conclusions. And the uncomfortable question every leader needs to sit with: is your business built like HS2, or like the alternative?

If you run a construction business, this is the briefing that will reshape how you read the next twelve months.

Plus details on the in-person fireside conversation with Chetan Kotur, the ex-Polestar designer now leading the team rebuilding Laing O'Rourke from the inside. London, 3rd June, evening of Digital Construction Week. Senior exec spaces already filling.

Show notes, references, and the link to sign up for the full newsletter and our Physical AI 2026 research are below:

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1. Event: Re-Engineering The Main Contractor · Luma2. Physical AI and Robotics Report: https://bricks-bytes.com/downloads/physical-ai-robotics-2026/

3. Newsletter: https://bricks-bytes.beehiiv.com/