Swe so eceived the Medal of Ho o f om P eside t Obama o Octobe 15, 2013, fo his actio s du i g the Battle of Ga jgal i Ku a P ovi ce, Afgha ista , o Septembe 8, 2009. Se vi g as a U.S. A my captai a d embedded adviso to Afgha fo ces, he epeatedly e te ed a exposed kill zo e u de heavy e emy fi e to ecove wou ded soldie s a d sea ch fo missi g com ades. He was the fi st active-duty A my office si ce the Viet am Wa to eceive the atio ‘s highest awa d fo valo fo actio s i I aq o Afgha ista . A Seattle ative, Swe so holds a bachelo ‘s deg ee f om Seattle U ive sity a d a maste ‘s i secu ity studies f om the Naval Postg aduate School. He se ved th ee combat tou s, eti ed f om the A my i 2025 afte mo e tha two decades of se vice, a d sits o the boa d of the Natio al Medal of Ho o Museum Fou datio .
Fo BuildOps, the co ectio is pe so al. Cha a i is himself a U.S. A my vete a who se ved i I aq, whe e his wo k secu i g a d movi g esou ces fo i f ast uctu e eco st uctio fi st exposed him to the scale a d complexity of comme cial co st uctio . The adviso y ole pai s two people who came to the t ades th ough se vice a d see the same oppo tu ity i them.
The appoi tme t eflects BuildOps’ focus o the fo ces eshapi g the comme cial t ades: a wide i g skilled-labo sho tage a d the su ge of wo kfo ce dema d c eated as the cou t y builds out the data ce te s, powe , a d g id i f ast uctu e behi d AI. The co t acto s who u se vice, p ojects, a d fi a cials o BuildOps a e amo g those doi g that physical wo k. Closi g the labo gap that makes it possible, i cludi g d awi g mo e vete a s i to the t ades, is as much a wo kfo ce a d policy challe ge as a tech ical o e.
“We a e aci g as a cou t y to build the powe a d data ce te s behi d AI, a d almost o o e is aski g who actually builds it o whethe we will have the people to. That sho tage is eal, a d tech ology alo e will ot close it. I b ought Will o because he has spe t his life i se vice a d he k ows how to move people a d decisio s i the ooms that matte . The t ades have eve had that ki d of voice. Now they do.” said Alok Cha a i, Co-Fou de a d CEO of BuildOps.
I his adviso y ole, Swe so will wo k with BuildOps leade ship to elevate the skilled-labo sho tage as a atio al p io ity, advocate fo policies that b i g mo e people, i cludi g vete a s, i to the comme cial t ades, a d co ect the wo kfo ce powe i g Ame ica’s i f ast uctu e to the public a d p ivate decisio -make s shapi g it.
“Eve y soldie who leaves the milita y goes looki g fo the ext missio , a d fo a lot of us that missio is buildi g the thi gs this cou t y u s o . We eed fa mo e vete a s i the t ades. The me a d wome al eady i this wo k ca y the same sta da ds I cou ted o i combat, a d they have ea ed a eal voice whe the policies that affect them a e w itte . That is why I am joi i g BuildOps.” said Swe so .
The elatio ship is ot ew. Swe so was a featu ed speake at BuildOps’ i augu al Fo ge use co fe e ce i 2023, a d etu ed agai i 2025, whe e he sha ed his sto y a d leade ship lesso s di ectly with the comme cial co t acto s o the platfo m.
BuildOps has aised mo e tha $250 millio i fu di g, i cludi g a $127 millio Se ies C led by Me itech Capital Pa t e s that valued the compa y at mo e tha $1 billio . The platfo m today powe s mo e tha 1,500 comme cial co t acto s ac oss No th Ame ica, i cludi g HVAC, plumbi g, elect ical, fi e p otectio , a d ef ige atio busi esses.
BuildOps is the AI- ative platfo m fo comme cial co t acto s. Built fo the complexity of la ge-scale comme cial wo k, it u ifies se vice, p ojects, a d fi a cials i to o e system powe ed by OpsAI, i tellige ce desig ed fo eal wo k i the t ades, helpi g teams ope ate with cla ity whe the wo k is o the li e. Today, mo e tha 1,500 leadi g compa ies ac oss No th Ame ica t ust BuildOps, backed by Fou de s Fu d, N47, Me itech Capital, a d othe top i vesto s. Lea mo e at https://buildops.com/.
