The Daily Blueprint May 23, 2025

Snapshot

Here’s what happened in the AEC world:ETH Zurich unveiled the Tor Alva tower as the world's tallest 3D-printed structure at 98.4 feet in Switzerland. Autodesk partnered with The Foothill Catalog Foundation to cut LA wildfire recovery permitting costs by 95% through pre-approved home designs. Converge raised $22M led by ABN AMRO to scale its AI concrete optimization platform ConcreteDNA. Dar Ventures backed Pi Labs' £100M fund targeting 50 AI-native construction and real estate startups.

AEC Tech in Action

Tor Alva becomes tallest 3D-printed tower at 98 feet: The Tor Alva tower in Switzerland, a collaboration between ETH Zurich and Origen, officially unveils as the world's tallest 3D-printed structure at 98.4 feet. (techeblog.com)

New Innovations and Partnerships

Autodesk Backs Pre-Approved Home Designs for LA Wildfire Recovery: Autodesk partners with The Foothill Catalog Foundation to create pre-approved home designs that cut permitting costs by 95% and reduce approval timelines from a year to weeks for LA wildfire survivors. (themalaysianreserve.com)

3D Cityplanner launches AI-driven urban planning software: Strategis Groep introduces an AI-powered 3D Cityplanner platform for urban development, enabling rapid and sustainable city planning entirely in the browser. (theglobeandmail.com)

Trimble introduces software for construction cost management: Trimble has launched Trimble Materials, a software solution to improve material cost control for contractors through enhanced budgeting and inventory tracking. (worldconstructionnetwork.com)

META BUILD Develops Integrated Heat Pumps for European Building Decarbonisation: The Horizon Europe project combines advanced heat pumps, renewable energy, and digital management systems across demonstrators in six countries to electrify building thermal systems. (enlit.world)

Funding and M&A Activity

Converge Raises $22M to Scale AI-Powered Concrete Optimization Platform: London-based Converge secured funding led by ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund to expand ConcreteDNA, its AI platform that optimizes concrete usage and reduces carbon emissions in construction. (finsmes.com)

Dar Ventures Backs Pi Labs' £100M Built Environment Fund: Dar Ventures invests in Pi Labs' fourth institutional fund to back up to 50 AI-native startups focused on construction, real estate, and infrastructure digitalization across pre-seed to Series A stages. (zawya.com)