Discussions around generative AI have, to date, primarily focused on the world of bits, but there is just as much potential in how AI can impact the physical world. AI models may not be able to literally move atoms, but they can enable faster and more optimized processes that make the physical world work better.
One area in particular that we have been excited for AI to embrace is architecture. Not only is the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) market massive — design software incumbent Autodesk has a $62 billion market cap — but it is also ripe for disruption. Architects are highly educated and well trained, but they are currently limited in the amount of time they can spend on creative work due to the volume of repetitive tasks their jobs currently entail. Simply put, too much time is spent individually drawing walls and lines in AutoCAD and Revit, the industry’s standard software tools.
That’s why we’re very excited to be investing in Pantheon. Pantheon is an AI-enabled architectural firm that can provide high-quality deliverables that you would expect from a traditional firm, but with a level of speed and service that was previously not possible.
Pantheon has built proprietary technology that can generate editable 3D models that faithfully represent the architecture of a building in both plan set (i.e., blueprint) and rendered form. These 3D models encompass the information needed for walls, room elements (e.g., cabinets), and building materials, to name a few, while also ingesting and then complying with the relevant building code requirements. Highly skilled architects drive the designs since their taste remains important to the design process — meaning that everything that Pantheon’s technology generates is verified by an architect before being sent to a customer — but the repetitive work that used to take architects days or weeks can now be done far more efficiently due to recent advances in AI.
After producing these deliverables, Pantheon then sells these outputs directly to property developers and owners, instead of selling software to architects themselves. This is because 1) Pantheon’s technology enables it to provide an extremely differentiated level of service to property developers and owners versus the status quo, and 2) doing so aligns Pantheon’s incentives more closely with where property developers and owners derive value.
What Pantheon is doing is incredibly mathematical, and it requires a differentiated technical approach to be able to pull this off at scale. That’s why we were so excited to partner with Pantheon cofounders David Mace and Tiger Sun. I’ve personally known both David and Tiger for years now; they are both incredibly technical, driven, and passionate about solving problems for customers in the physical world. David is a second-time founder who successfully sold his first company SwiftScale Biologics to Resilience Bio, and Tiger had a sterling reputation for being one of the strongest engineers at Scale, whose technical talent we respect immensely. Unsurprisingly, they’ve already hired top engineers, as well as highly skilled architects who previously worked at top firms like Gensler, SOM, and KPF.
I’m thrilled to have led their most recent round and to join their board. If you’re interested in working on the future of the built world, they’re hiring! Reach out at careers@withpantheon.ai.
