Build Inc., an artificial intelligence startup specializing in industrial real estate development, has raised an $8.5 million seed round led by Index Ventures.
Pebblebed, Puzzle Ventures and Tiny.vc also participated. Notable angel investors include OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar and Blackstone CTO John Stecher.
Based in New York, Build operates an AI system called Dougie. The system automates complex infrastructure workflows such as site sourcing, technical due diligence, power assessment, and early design. The company claims Dougie compresses tasks that typically take over four weeks into approximately 75 minutes. Pulling from over 1,600 data sources, the platform has been deployed across more than 100 projects in 15 countries. Clients include governments, Fortune 500 companies, and institutional real estate groups.
“The industries shaping the physical world have spent decades trapped in process instead of creativity,” said CEO James Stirrat-Ellis. “By removing that operational burden, we can help teams move faster.”
The global data center market is experiencing a massive supercycle driven by generative AI and hyperscale cloud computing. Analysts estimate up to $3 trillion in real estate and IT will be required by 2030 to add nearly 100 gigawatts of capacity, driving parallel needs for upgraded energy grids and water systems.