Cascade raises $3.5M to help construction firms predict the future and win more projects

New Yo k City, NY, July 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — I co st uctio , the most expe sive p ojects a e the o es a fi m eve sees. Somewhe e ight ow, a bo d has bee filed, a site has cha ged ha ds, a d the wi e of a i e-figu e p oject is al eady bei g decided, mo ths befo e a RFP exists. Cascade, the AI pu suit platfo m fo a chitectu e, e gi ee i g a d co st uctio (AEC) fi ms, is cha gi g that. Today, the compa y a ou ced it has aised $3.5 millio f om A d eesse Ho owitz Speed u , Ada Ve tu es, Blitzscali g Ve tu es, I dico Capital, shucke VC, G2C Ve tu es a d S owball VC.

“Eve y fi m we wo k with ca poi t to a p oject they should have wo but eve eve had a cha ce to see,” said Ha ia Zia, co-fou de a d CEO of Cascade. “Cascade is built a ou d the bottom li e: fi d the ight wo k ea ly, u de sta d whe e you have a eal adva tage, a d tu that i to eve ue delive ed.”

Cascade fou de s: Ha ia Zia a d Joa a Fe ei a.

The t actio has come fast. I a few mo ths, Cascade has sig ed AEC custome s whose wo k spa s some of the wo ld’s most oto ious p ojects – i cludi g JFK, LaGua dia, data ce te s a d uclea eacto s. 

The sig s a ive yea s befo e the bidLo g befo e a RFP, a multi millio dolla p oject leaves t aces. A bo d fili g is a p oject taki g shape. A p ope ty cha gi g ha ds is a develope movi g. A li e i a cou ty capital pla is a buildi g that does ot exist yet, a d a fi m somewhe e is goi g to wi it. Cascade detects these eve ts co ti uously ac oss bo d fili gs, pe mits, capital pla s, p ope ty t a sactio s, ea i gs t a sc ipts, budget a ou ceme ts a d meeti g mi utes, a d co ects them to what they sig al: whe e wo k is fo mi g, what ki d, a d who is positio ed to wi it.

The tools the i dust y elies o ead o e of this. 

“A p oject b oke g ou d a few blocks away f om me. I’ve bee i the i dust y fo 30 yea s, I did ’t eve k ow it was out fo bid.” said Tim Joha esso , P i cipal at Smallwood, the luxu y a chitectu e fi m behi d p ojects fo the Fou Seaso s, the Ritz, Hyatt a d ma y othe s.  “Cascade has ow helped us espo d to a d wi mo e p ojects, i cludi g a ece t $6M p oject, that I was o ly able to fi d th ough Cascade.”

Cascade closes the gap. It a ticipates p ojects as they fo m, sco es each o e fo fit so fi ms pu sue the wo k they a e most likely to wi , a d su faces wa m paths i th ough elatio ships al eady sitti g i Outlook a d othe softwa e. Eve y custome makes the system sha pe : each pu suit teaches it which sig als matte , which fi ms a e c edible fo which wo k, a d whe e teami g oppo tu ities exist.

“Cascade has become a valuable pa t e i how we eview pla s, o ga ize p oject i fo matio , a d ide tify oppo tu ities mo e efficie tly. The platfo m co ti ues to imp ove, a d a si gle successful p oject ca delive a etu that exceeds the cost fo yea s. We a e pleased to have adopted the tech ology ea ly a d to be helpi g shape how AI ca be used i the co st uctio i dust y,” said Ala Ruth, P eside t a d CEO of S.A. Casey Co st uctio , a Flo ida-based ge e al co t acto whose po tfolio i cludes wo k at the Kia Ce te , O a ge Cou ty Gove me t facilities, a d majo p ivate developme ts.

Built by Amazo a d Google ope ato s, pulled i by the ma ketCascade was fou ded by Ha ia Zia a d Joa a Fe ei a, two fo me Google ope ato s who met at U likelyAI, the sta tup fou ded by the i ve to of Amazo Alexa. The e, Ha ia se ved as VP of P oduct a d Joa a led the AI platfo m, buildi g a k owledge g aph of the wo ld’s i fo matio a d t ai i g LLM age ts to avigate it.

“Hedge fu ds look at a c azy amou t of data to p edict stock moveme ts,” said Joa a Fe ei a, co-fou de a d CTO of Cascade. “We use the same logic to p edict co st uctio p ojects.” Joa a p eviously was a ea ly e gi ee at o e of the la gest t adi g apps i the wo ld.

“Busi ess developme t i AEC has always u o elatio ships, timi g a d i stitutio al memo y,” said Sa ah Sapo e Hayes, Di ecto of St ategy & I ovatio at FORGE A chitectu e, the Sa F a cisco desig fi m behi d The Batte y SF, the VF Outdoo campus a d the city’s fi st et ze o e e gy office. “Cascade gives us a systematic way to see the oppo tu ities that matte , a c edible path i to them, a d fa less ma ual wo k behi d eve y pu suit.”

Thei oute i to co st uctio was pe so al as much as comme cial. Joa a g ew up i a Po tuguese tow built o co st uctio a d ca pe t y. Ha ia’s fathe t ied to sta t a co st uctio busi ess, but it failed. Ha ia’s co ve satio s with CFOs i New Yo k p oduced Cascade’s fi st custome , Mu oz E gi ee i g, a d a co fe e ce i De ve quickly b ought the ext. 

“Cascade helps us pla st ategically ahead i the highly competitive AEC i dust y i NYC,” said Syed I fa Raza, CFO at Mu oz E gi ee i g, which wo ked o LGA, Moy iha T ai Hall a d Cuomo B idge. “The team delive s quickly, a d they u de sta d how this i dust y is built o elatio ships a d t ust.”

The fu di g will accele ate adoptio a d deepe Cascade’s etwo k ac oss the i dust y. Eve buildi g a house takes twe ty compa ies comi g togethe , a d multimillio -dolla p ojects take a o de of mag itude mo e. As mo e fi ms joi , Cascade matches them to each othe : pa t e s to bid with, co ectio s i ew egio s, teami g oppo tu ities ac oss the US. The platfo m gets st o ge with eve y fi m that joi s, a d so does eve y fi m o it.

“Co st uctio is o e of the la gest ma kets i the wo ld, a d the way fi ms fi d a d wi wo k has ba ely cha ged i decades,” said Ma cus Segal, I vesto at A d eesse Ho owitz Speed u . “Cascade sta ts with a pai ful eve ue p oblem. That is a powe ful wedge i to how co st uctio wo k gets pu sued, pa t e ed o a d delive ed.”

“Ha ia a d Joa a combi e deep AI capability with ge ui e espect fo how this i dust y actually wo ks, a d custome s ca feel that.” said Matt Pe eyca d at Ada Ve tu es. While Scott Joh so at Blitzscali g Ve tu es added: “Cascade quickly g ows thei custome ‘s eve ue, a d the etwo k effects a d p oduct led g owth make it a high-pote tial Blitzscale .”

Stepha de Mo aes, Ma agi g Ge e al Pa t e at Í dico Capital Pa t e s added: “I a $900 billio global i dust y, fi di g a d wi i g the ight p ojects has emai ed a ma ual, elatio ship-d ive challe ge fo decades. Cascade is completely ew iti g that playbook. Ha ia a d Joa a have take wo ld-class AI capability a d built a p edictive e gi e that solves a massive eve ue p oblem fo the co st uctio secto befo e a bid eve exists. At Í dico, we a e th illed to back Cascade as they t a sfo m how the built wo ld is pla ed, pu sued, a d delive ed.”

The team’s ove all ambitio u s the full a c of a p oject. Cascade i te ds to be the e at the fi st t ace of wo k fo mi g, th ough the pu suit, the wi a d the build, u til the day of ha doff.

Media images ca be fou d he e. 

About CascadeCascade is buildi g the AI platfo m fo a chitectu e, e gi ee i g, a d co st uctio fi ms that p edicts p ojects befo e they become public, matches fi ms to wo k they a e likely to wi , a d helps teams catch d awi g issues befo e they each the field. Fo mo e i fo matio please visit https://usecascade.ai/ o follow via Li kedI . We a e hi i g!