Cascade, a startup focused on aiding architecture, engineering, and construction firms in securing projects, has successfully obtained $3.5 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz Speedrun, Ada Ventures, and Snowball VC.
Founded in 2025 by Hannia Zia and Joana Ferreira, Cascade emerged from the founders’ direct experiences with the challenges that construction businesses encounter in consistently obtaining work.
Ferreira noted, “My mother worked in a company supplying materials to construction firms, and my uncle was involved in building luxury homes in the Middle East. They excel in their fields, but they lack the proper tools to secure more projects.” Similarly, Zia shared her father’s struggles while trying to start a construction company in Pakistan: “He faced difficulties in finding enough projects to maintain his business.”
Zia characterizes the current method of locating construction opportunities as a “constant treasure hunt,” where companies must access numerous portals belonging to various state, city, district, county, and federal agencies across the U.S. “If your expertise lies in constructing suspension bridges, you need to sift through all these disconnected portals to find relevant opportunities,” she explained.
Cascade intends to assist architectural, construction, and engineering firms by tracking both ongoing and upcoming projects while analyzing previous tender data to predict potential developers likely to secure these deals.
The platform operates by having a company register, after which Cascade utilizes AI tools to identify projects they are most likely to win. Additionally, it forecasts forthcoming projects through various data signals from U.S. states, local districts, private contracts, and federal agencies. For instance, if a state announces a $100 million affordable housing grant, Cascade will analyze which developers had previously secured similar grants.
Ferreira elaborated, “We compile this data and inform our clients: ‘One of these five developers is most likely to win this newly announced grant, so reach out to them to pursue projects.’”
The founders applied to the A16z speedrun program last September. They credited the intense environment of demo day and the opportunity to interact with other accomplished founders as instrumental in securing contracts with firms responsible for constructing JFK and La Guardia airports, Four Seasons hotels, and various data centers. “Speedrun provided us with visibility and credibility that helped us finalize significant deals,” Zia remarked.
The startup plans to utilize this new funding to enter the market, organize industry events, and expand its engineering team.
Though other companies like GovWin IQ and ConstructConnect operate in this sector, Ferreira emphasizes that Cascade incorporates more AI-focused technology compared to these competitors.
“Each time a client wins a bid, they provide feedback, allowing our system to become increasingly intelligent. Over time, we aim to develop a comprehensive roadmap of the industry that our AI can navigate to identify the best projects and leads suited to each customer,” she stated.
