Industry leaders Patric Hellermann, Dustin Devan, Martin Piekarz & Owen Drury sit down each week to explore tech, news, and trends within the AEC sector.
Each week we debate the macro economic issues within the industry and how they those working and building within AEC. Hot takes only.
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2026 Construction Industry, $3 Billion Construction Tech Exits, Canvas Robotics Acquired, Pre-Con Debates & LinkedIn Content Crisis
Friday, January 9, 2026 • Duration 01:20:34
Is $3 Billion the New Normal for Construction Tech Exits?
In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Patric, Martin, and Dustin kick off 2026 with hot takes, bold predictions, and a no-holds-barred discussion on what's really happening in construction tech.
What we cover:
The 2026 construction industry trends everyone's talking about (data centers, manufacturing plateaus, and the office market reality)
Why LinkedIn has become a wasteland of AI-generated garbage and what actually works now
Patric's spicy prediction: "$3 billion exits in construction tech in 2026"
The great pre-construction debate: Can you really reduce years of work to minutes?
Why most tech companies are marketing to VCs instead of actual customers (and how to spot the BS)
Canvas Robotics gets acquired by JLG - what this means for the robotics wave
Steve Dellorto from ConCntric joins to talk about his 26 years at Clark Construction and why pre-con is broken
The most ridiculous products from CES 2026 (AI-powered hair clippers, anyone?)
A heated debate on socialism, taxes, and why New York's mayor might be the worst businessman in America
Key quote:"It was never easier to start a business, but it was also never more difficult to build a great business." - Patric
Our Sponsor:
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
BuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:09 Introduction to 2026 Construction Trends
00:04:09 CES Conference Highlights and Innovations
00:07:08 Shifts in Construction Project Types
00:10:21 The Impact of Social Media on Industry Trends
00:13:13 The Evolution of Content Creation and Marketing
00:16:09 The Future of Business Models in Tech
00:19:21 The Role of People in Business Success
00:22:09 Reflections on Quality in Content and Business
00:25:15 Closing Thoughts and Future Directions
00:28:26 Trends in Construction Mergers and Acquisitions
00:31:49 The Impact of Tariffs and Supply Chain Localization
00:35:34 Global Economic Shifts and Their Effects on Construction
00:40:02 The Rise of Offsite Manufacturing in Construction
00:43:03 Advancements in Robotics and AI in Construction
00:48:03 Green Building Mandates and Energy Challenges
00:53:38 Innovations in Pre-Construction Technology
A $100,000+ Christmas party, strip clubs as corporate bonding, and a secret betting ring—this is how construction tech really celebrates.
In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, hosts Owen, Martin, and Dustin close out 2025 with Santa hats, sick days, and the unfiltered truth about the AEC industry's wildest traditions.
In this festive year-end special, you'll hear about:
The two-week closed beta of their AEC prediction market experiment and why it's harder to execute than anyone expected
Dustin's legendary Building Connected Christmas party where they blew over $100K knowing they were about to get acquired (casino night, no budget limits, zero regrets)
Why construction industry Christmas parties always end with at least one fight and HR scrambling the next day
Equipment Share's IPO filing and why 2026 could see three major AEC tech companies go public
The leaderboard drama where Dustin bet big on himself for "best looking host" and actually won
"I don't know if that time will ever come again because money was treated very differently." – Dustin DeVan on Silicon Valley's glory days
The crew signs off until January 8th with holiday cheer, confession-booth honesty, and predictions for an even wilder 2026.
Our Sponsor:
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
BuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io
Watch the Breadcrumb Ad here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKUPzoHig2M
Chapters
Bobyard's $35M AI Claims, Oracle's $523B Backlog, Larry Ellison's Debt Mastery, Parallax Worlds $4.9M Robot Testing, ChatGPT vs Construction Reality
Friday, December 12, 2025 • Duration 01:19:20
Can You Really Bid a Construction Project in Minutes? One Founder Says Yes, a Contractor Says It's "Completely Inaccurate"
In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Martin, Patric, and Dustin tear into the latest construction tech funding news, Oracle's jaw-dropping earnings, and set up what might be the most heated debate in AEC tech this year.
What's covered:
Bobyard's $35M Series A for AI-powered takeoffs—and why Dustin thinks their marketing claims miss the mark on how pre-construction actually works
Oracle's $523 billion revenue backlog (yes, that's more than the GDP of Norway, Austria, and Vietnam combined)
How Larry Ellison became the master of debt financing and why the AI bubble might not be bursting yet
Tanmay Agarwal from Parallax Worlds joins to explain their $4.9M raise and how they stress-test robots in hyper-realistic digital twins before they hit factory floors
The battle lines drawn: Mike Powers and Luigi La Corte face off in a heated teaser for Tuesday's debate on whether ChatGPT and Gemini have actually "solved" construction estimating
The quote:
"Estimating, quantity takeoff is not the most time consuming aspect of pre-construction. For any person that's ever been a part of pre-construction, that spans years. You do not spend years doing quantity takeoff." — Dustin
Plus, next week is the final episode of 2025—and there might be costumes involved.
Our Sponsor:
Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com
BuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io
Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out
AEC's Craziest Acquisition Ever? Landing Page 101, UK Construction Doomed, Robotics to win 2026
Friday, December 5, 2025 • Duration 01:10:38
Is the $390M AECOM-Consigli Deal Actually Worth It? (And Why Everyone Has an Opinion)
In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Martin, and Dustin dive into the construction tech industry's hottest acquisition while unpacking what it means for the future of AEC software.
Key topics discussed:
The AECOM acquisition of Norwegian AI startup Consigli for $390M and whether the valuation is justified
Engineering consultancies buying software startups: smart strategy or risky bet?
Dustin's firsthand experience with acquisitions and what actually happens post-deal
The hidden challenges of integrating AI software into traditional construction firms
Out-of-the-box LLMs vs. custom-built AI: which wins for construction takeoffs?
Announcing the AEC Prediction Market closed beta (launching December 8th)
"The level of precision that these models are gonna reach is gonna far exceed even what you would do on your own at some point. And it's very, very close anyway." – Dustin DeVan
Plus: Why Owen's satirical LinkedIn post about the deal went viral, Dustin's impressive turkey trot performance, and the upcoming debate between Luigi and Powers on whether general AI models can truly replace specialized construction tools.
Our Sponsors
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
BuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io
Chapters
00:00 Intro
Introduction to Live Streaming Challenges
PlanGrid Founders Return to Construction, 27% of GCs Using Personal Funds, $9.2M Nextlight Raise, AI Go-To-Market Race, with Will Mitchell from Rabbit
Friday, November 14, 2025 • Duration 01:16:51
27% of contractors are using PERSONAL MONEY to keep their businesses alive—and it's worse than you think.
In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Dustin, and Martin break down the biggest shakeups in construction tech, from the PlanGrid founders' surprise return to AI, to the shocking payment crisis threatening to sink contractors across the industry.
We’re joined by Will Mitchell from Rabbet, David from NxLite, and Vardhan Mehta from Acelab to unpack what's really happening in construction payments, energy efficiency, and materials management.
Key Topics:
Tiger Eye's big pivot: Why Tracy Young and Ralph Gootee are bringing AI back to construction after PlanGrid
The AI arms race: Will there be one winner or will construction tech fragment like consumer markets?
Rabbet's 2025 Construction Payments Report: 44% of firms are getting paid late and 20% hit negative cash flow
The personal finance nightmare: Why nearly 1 in 3 GCs are dipping into their own pockets to cover payroll
NxLite's $9.2M Series A: How smart window coatings can slash building energy costs by 25%
Acelab's $13.5M raise: The two-sided marketplace that's won over half the top 100 AEC firms
"None of these companies are building their own foundational models. They're using other people's models. So I think it's going to be a go-to-market race." — Dustin DeVan
Sponsors:
BuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io
Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com
Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co
OpenAI Turner Mega Deal, OpenSpace Buys Disperse, Government Shutdown Impact on Construction & Startup Valuation Truth Bombs
Friday, November 7, 2025 • Duration 01:16:41
In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Martin, Patrick, and Dustin break down what happens when a fully remote startup brings everyone together IRL—plus two major construction tech deals that have everyone talking.
Dustin opens up about Ediphi's first all-hands offsite (spoiler: his team didn't win the escape room), before the crew dives into the chaos of government shutdowns and what they actually mean for construction.
Then things get spicy with the OpenAI x Turner deal that's got LinkedIn in a frenzy, and Jeevan from OpenSpace and Oli from Disperse join to talk about their recently announced acquisition.
Topics covered:
Why company offsites are worth every penny for remote teams
The real cost of government shutdowns on construction projects
Turner's $30M OpenAI deal and what it means for GCs
Inside the OpenSpace + Disperse acquisition
The uncomfortable truth about startup valuations and M&A
"You're not worth that much money when you raise at 30 million or 50 million. You're not truly worth that. It's buying a future." - Dustin DeVan
Plus: Owen debuts the new Bricks & Bytes merch, Dustin reveals his founder health transformation (no Ozempic involved), and the team debates whether construction tech is ripe for consolidation.
Our Sponsor:
Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com
BuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io
Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co
Chapters
00:00 Intro
nPlan Raises £11.9M Series B, AI Agents Lack Evals Crisis, WhatsApp Dominates 90% Site Communication
Friday, October 31, 2025 • Duration 01:29:21
"Most AI Agents Will Die" - Why This CTO Is Terrified About What's Coming
In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, hosts Owen Drury, Martin, and Patric Hellermann sit down with some of construction tech's boldest builders who aren't holding back. Fresh off massive funding rounds and hard-won lessons, they reveal what's really happening behind the hype.
What we cover:
- nPlan's £11.9M Series B - Alan Mosca (CTO) explains why they accidentally solved molecule generation while building scheduling AI
- Factors' $56M raise - How they're financing $250-300M of construction work annually (and the "trick" banks don't want you to know)
- The AI agent apocalypse - Why lack of evaluation frameworks will "kill off most agents"
- WhatsApp is eating construction tech - 90% of site communication happens here, and smart founders are finally paying attention
- Smart glasses revolution - Why this could be as transformative as mobile phones on construction sites
- AI consultancies without humans - The controversial future of PM firms charging on outcomes, not hours
- Why one founder stopped fundraising - "Customer money is the best capital" and why raising is a "massive distraction"
- 5 accelerators, 5 lessons - Prakash Senghani (Navatech) on contradictory advice and what actually works in the Middle East
- Regional pricing secrets - Why per-user pricing fails in the UAE and what to do instead
Key Quote:
"I think we're getting to a stage where AI is going to become like the internet, right? You don't tell people that my app runs on the internet. That's obvious. You're going to get to a stage where your app has AI. Yeah, that's obvious, right? What are you doing with it? What's the outcome?" - Prakash Senghani
Procore’s AI Bomb, Should VCs Pick Ideas, Revolutionary Site Layout Tool
Friday, October 24, 2025 • Duration 01:14:33
Last week at Groundbreak, Procore launched Helix AI Agents claiming to make startups like Trunk Tools and Datagrid "obsolete overnight."
In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Martin, Dustin, and Patric dives into one of the most controversial questions in startup investing: Should founders ask VCs for business ideas?
In this episode:
Why asking investors for startup ideas means you're already losing
The real reason big corporations can never innovate from within
Where the truth about building outlier businesses actually lies
Why construction tech is heating up right now (and nobody knows what's coming)
The Procore AI agent announcement that's shaking up the industry
How to find insights that actually matter (hint: it's not from VCs)
The Brutal Reality: "If a VC had such a unique insight on that business, it would almost be a compelling enough reason to leave their job to pursue it because those things are so special and so rare"
The construction tech arena is heating up. Big announcements. Bold claims. But who's actually solving real problems?
If you're building in construction tech, this episode reveals the playbook no one's talking about.
Watch the full breakdown before everyone else figures it out.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:32 Introduction to Business Ideas and AI Agents
04:21 The Role of Investors in Business Ideation
07:26 The Nature of Outlier Businesses
10:05 The Limitations of VC Insights
13:01 The Impact of New Browsers on Market Dynamics
15:54 Procore's AI Agent Announcement and Industry Reactions
Buildots Acquisition, Procore Groundbreak’s Awkward Week, Pre-Con Is On Fire
Friday, October 17, 2025 • Duration 01:19:57
Buildots acquired workforce tracking company Genda – combining progress monitoring with real-time worker data in a way their competitors can't match.
In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Martin, Patric, and Dustin dig into the week's biggest stories in construction tech, from strategic acquisitions to what actually happened at Groundbreak.
Key topics discussed:
Why Buildots bought Genda and how tracking workforce alongside progress creates a competitive edge (especially for catching inflated change orders)
Dustin's firsthand account of Procore's Groundbreak keynote – an hour about AI agents, but almost nothing about solving real construction problems
The awkward moment when Tooey handed over CEO duties, and why the transition felt rushed and unprepared
Luigi La Corte from Provision explains how skimping on branding early hurt their credibility with customers (even while being capital efficient)
A proper argument about 2D takeoffs: Dustin thinks they'll be commoditized, Luigi defends why 99% accuracy matters
Candid Intelligence's claim they can compress years of pre-construction work into hours (and what that actually means)
The reality that contractors will never blindly trust AI quantities – and for good reason
"If you don't do your own branding early, someone else will do your branding for you." – Luigi La Corte, Provision
Dustin also teases some Groundbreak gossip he can't share yet. You'll have to wait until next week.
Sponsors:
Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com
BuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:30 Introduction to BuildDots and Recent Acquisition
NEOM Cancelled, 21K Dead, SoftBank's $5.4B Bet, Track3D Raises $10M
Friday, October 10, 2025 • Duration 01:16:19
Is Saudi Arabia's $500B Dream Dead? Plus: The $5.4B Robotics Deal That Changes Everything
In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, Owen, Martin, and Patric dive into the biggest construction and tech stories shaking up the industry right now.
What we cover:
NEOM's collapse - Why Saudi Arabia is pulling the plug on "The Line" and what it means for construction startups in the region (spoiler: 21,000 workers died building this dream)
SoftBank's massive $5.4B bet - Breaking down the ABB Robotics acquisition and what "physical AI" really means for construction
The humanoid vs. specialized robots debate - Which will actually take over construction sites first?
Calvin from CrewScope on using gamification to boost worker productivity (yes, leaderboards for drywallers are real)
NK from Track3D reveals how they raised $10M to turn reality capture data into instant project insights - no BIM model required
The AI circus continues - From OpenAI "killing 1000 startups" to Nvidia's brilliant financing scheme with xAI
Key quote:"People have been trying solutions for so long. I don't think it's on the industry - they've been trying. It's on us as technology providers. Our technology is not simple enough." - NK Chaitanya, Track3D
Plus: Owen somehow gets invited to speak at an RICS conference after failing their exam three times. Sometimes persistence beats credentials.
Our Sponsor:
Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com
BuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io
Chapters
00:00 Intro
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