Vancouver’s GroundedAI has closed $2 million CAD to help tunnel developers build a better, more comprehensive understanding of shifting subsurface conditions.
**The news: **GroundedAI, which is building “a system of record” for underground construction, sells software designed to make it easier for engineers, geologists, and project managers at firms like Hatch to digitally capture, communicate, and analyze their field observations about ground composition and rock quality with the help of AI. The round was led by StandUp Ventures, with support from Accelia, BoxOne Ventures, The51, LOI Venture, and existing backer SOSV. It brings GroundedAI’s total equity funding to $2.8 million. GroundedAI plans to use this financing to grow its seven-person team to 11 and expand its presence across North America.
**From the source: Under Prime Minister Mark Carney, Canada wants to build more major infrastructure projects. GroundedAI co-founder and CEO Shelby Yee expects tech to play an important role in this push. **“Transit expansion, pumped hydro, power transmission, water and wastewater systems, gas pipelines, and the mines supplying the critical minerals for all of it all require tunnelling or underground construction,” Yee told BetaKit over email. The CEO argued building such projects based on real-time data rather than pre-existing models’ best interpretations “will be critical” to ensuring they stay “on time and on budget.”
**Following the thread: Yee cited the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and Niagara hydro tunnel—both of which ultimately came in far above budget—as two recent examples of what can go wrong without a good understanding of true underground conditions following initial surveys. **The CEO claimed unaccounted-for ground risk has become a core driver of cost overruns for major infrastructure projects, and one of the most difficult to spot using existing approaches, from paper sketches to disparate mobile phone photos, spreadsheets, and even memory.
**Final thought: **GroundedAI is not the only tech startup that sees big opportunity in using AI to expedite Canada’s infrastructure push. Fellow Western Canadian firm Ultimarii is tackling this challenge from a different angle: the Calgary company has set its sights on helping developers navigate the regulatory process.
Feature image courtesy GroundedAI.