The construction industry is massive, complex, and notoriously inefficient. Projects run over budget. Timelines stretch. Change orders pile up. And by the time problems surface, it’s often too late — the plans are locked, materials are ordered, and crews are already on-site.
Now, a new AI startup called MeltPlan believes the real problem starts long before the first shovel hits the ground.
The company has raised $10 million in a Seed funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Noa. With this latest investment, MeltPlan’s total funding now stands at $14 million.
The round was first reported by ISN on February 21, 2026.
But beyond the funding headlines, MeltPlan is chasing something bigger: fixing construction before construction begins.
The $14 Trillion Industry Built on Fragile Decisions
Construction is a $14 trillion global industry. Yet despite its size, many projects struggle with the same core issue — early decisions made with incomplete information.
Most existing tools focus on either:
- Designing beautiful, functional buildings
- Managing construction once it’s underway
But what about the messy middle? The preconstruction phase — where teams decide scope, budget, materials, and timelines — is often fragmented and manual.
That’s the gap MeltPlan wants to fill.
The Missing Layer in Construction Software
According to MeltPlan’s co-founder and CEO Kanav Hasija, construction projects don’t fail because people are unskilled or careless.
They fail because teams commit too early.
Preconstruction teams often work in silos. Architects, engineers, contractors, and developers make decisions based on partial data. Tradeoffs are not fully modeled. Constraints are not completely evaluated. By the time the full picture emerges, it’s expensive to change course.
MeltPlan calls its solution a “planning engine” — an AI system designed to simulate scenarios, evaluate constraints, and help teams make smarter decisions before plans are finalized.
Instead of locking in scope and reacting later, the software aims to help teams explore multiple possibilities upfront — balancing cost, code compliance, scheduling, and overall project value.
What MeltPlan’s AI Actually Does
At its core, MeltPlan is building AI tools specifically for preconstruction decision-making.
The company is developing systems that focus on:
Code Intelligence
Helping teams navigate regulatory requirements and compliance issues early in the planning process.
Cost Modeling
Running real-time financial scenarios to understand how design changes affect budgets.
Schedule Optimization
Evaluating how decisions impact timelines before contracts and procurement begin.
Value Tradeoffs
Allowing stakeholders to compare options and understand long-term implications, not just short-term costs.
Instead of relying on static spreadsheets and disconnected tools, MeltPlan aims to create a centralized AI layer that evaluates multiple constraints at once.
The idea is simple: make complex decisions less chaotic — and ideally, make construction more predictable.
From Healthtech Unicorn to Construction AI
MeltPlan’s CEO, Kanav Hasija, is no stranger to building at scale. He previously co-founded Innovaccer, a healthtech startup that grew into a $3 billion company.
Now, he’s applying lessons from healthcare — another complex, regulated industry — to construction.
His co-founder and COO, Tanmaya Kala, brings deep domain expertise. A Stanford-educated civil engineer, Kala understands firsthand how fragmented preconstruction workflows can be.
Together, the duo is combining industry knowledge with AI-driven systems thinking.
Their thesis: construction doesn’t need more tools during execution. It needs intelligence before execution.
Why Investors Are Paying Attention
Leading the round is Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the world’s most established venture capital firms, known for backing category-defining companies.
Investors see a few compelling factors:
Massive Market Size
Construction represents a $14 trillion opportunity globally, yet remains one of the least digitized industries.
High Pain, High Cost
Small miscalculations in early planning can lead to millions in overruns later.
AI Tailwinds
Artificial intelligence is increasingly capable of modeling complex, multi-variable systems — exactly the kind of environment preconstruction requires.
Founder Credibility
With Hasija’s track record at Innovaccer and Kala’s engineering background, MeltPlan enters the market with both startup experience and domain expertise.
Making Construction “Boring” Again
MeltPlan’s mission might sound unusual at first: make construction boring.
But in this context, boring means predictable.
No last-minute design changes.
No surprise budget explosions.
No endless back-and-forth between stakeholders.
By focusing upstream — before scope is locked and procurement begins — MeltPlan believes it can reduce the need for costly change orders and reactive problem-solving.
In many ways, the startup is positioning itself as the strategic brain of a construction project — sitting above design and execution software to guide smarter commitments.
The Road Ahead
With $10 million in fresh capital, MeltPlan plans to:
- Further develop its AI-powered planning engine
- Expand its product capabilities across code, cost, schedule, and value systems
- Grow its team and partnerships within the construction ecosystem
The challenge won’t be small. Construction is traditionally slow to adopt new technology. Stakeholders are cautious. Processes are entrenched.
But that also creates opportunity.
If MeltPlan can prove that better upfront planning directly reduces overruns and delays, adoption could accelerate quickly — especially among large developers and general contractors managing multi-million or billion-dollar projects.
The Bigger Picture: AI’s Expanding Role in Traditional Industries
MeltPlan represents a broader trend: AI moving beyond flashy consumer applications and into foundational, legacy industries.
Healthcare. Logistics. Manufacturing. And now, construction.
These industries may not always grab headlines like social media or crypto startups. But they represent enormous economic value — and inefficiencies that AI is uniquely suited to address.
If MeltPlan succeeds, it won’t just improve project workflows. It could redefine how billions of dollars in infrastructure and real estate are planned worldwide.
And that’s far from boring.
