Cascade raises $3.5M to help construction firms find and win projects

Cascade, a startup developing a platform to assist architecture, engineering, and construction companies in finding and winning projects, has secured $3.5 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz Speedrun, Ada Ventures, and Snowball VC. Founded in 2025, Cascade was born from its founders' personal experiences with the challenges construction businesses face in consistently securing work.

Joana Ferreira recalled that her mother worked for a company that sold materials to construction firms, and her uncle built mansions in the Middle East — both were excellent at their craft but lacked the right tools to get more work. Hannia Zia remembered her father's attempt to start a construction business in Pakistan, which failed because he couldn't find enough projects to sustain himself. Zia described the current process of finding construction projects as a "constant treasure hunt," requiring firms to log into separate portals for each U.S. state, city, district, county, and federal agency.

Cascade aims to solve this by tracking ongoing and upcoming projects, then using prior tender data to predict which developers are likely to win. When a company signs up, the platform uses AI to determine which projects they have the best chance of winning. It also forecasts future projects by analyzing signals and data from U.S. states, local districts, private contracts, and federal agencies. For instance, if a state announces a $100 million affordable housing grant, Cascade monitors which developers won the previous grant and advises clients to approach them.

The founders applied to A16z's Speedrun program last September. They noted that pressure to perform on demo day and inspiration from other founders helped them sign contracts with companies that built JFK and La Guardia airports, Four Seasons hotels, and data centers. Cascade plans to use the new funds for go-to-market efforts, industry events, and hiring more engineers.

Competitors in this space include GovWin IQ and ConstructConnect, but Ferreira argues Cascade is more AI-native. "Every time a customer wins a bid, they give feedback, so the system keeps getting smarter. Over time, we’ll have a complete map of the industry that our AI can traverse to predict the best projects and leads for each customer," she said.