The commercial contract industry is the foundation of the economy, generating around $300 billion a year and employing hundreds of thousands of skilled workers, including electrical scientists, HVAC experts and engineers. These are the hospital functions, the factory movements, and people whose buildings run smoothly.
But for all the impact, contractors are left in the dust by modern software.
Industry research shows that merchants only spend 30% of the day and do practical practical work. The rest disappears to black holes in the paper, outdated instructions, missing parts, and slow approval. It’s not just inefficient, it’s expensive. Delaying repairs can close production lines, slow down critical operations, and accumulate unnecessary costs.
This is the pane point set up by the Los Angeles-based AI startup buildop to fix it.
Instead of reusing residential tools and calling them solutions, Buildops built a platform from scratch, specifically built for commercial contractors. Its AI-enabled software connects field technicians, dispatchers and managers in real time to clear operational noise that can choke your day. It transformed chaos into a clean workflow and replaced frustration with the type of structure that has been in need for years.
BuildOps hits Unicorn status after a $127 million Series C round
Currently, BuildOps has raised $127 million in Series C funding at a $1 billion valuation and is officially joining the coveted Unicorn Club. The Los Angeles-based startup is building software for commercial contractors, and said the money will help expand operations and meet the growing demand for AI-enabled platforms.
The round was led by Meritech Capital Partners, along with participation from Schneider Electric’s SE venture, Bond Capital, and existing investors such as Fika Ventures and Next47.
Founded in 2018 by Alok Chanani, Steve Chew and Neeraj Mittal, Buildops helps commercial contractors operate more efficiently by automating tasks, providing real-time data insights, and simplifying project and service management through AI-powered tools.
“The modern contractors we work with will gain insights from the data that AI is currently playing against, and from data that seeks to predict cost overruns,” Coo John Laino told Reuters in an interview. “Historically, they had to wait three or four months for a project, and sometimes it was too late to revise the course.”
Supported by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, BuildOps says it has been increasing revenues at 100% before 100% for several years. CEO Alok Chanani says the focus is on expansion rather than current profits.
“We are in today’s super-growth phase, so profitability is not the central focus of our business right now. Our focus is investing heavily in R&D and product development, continuing to expand our market scope and customer acquisition,” Chanani said.
The company is also open to more acquisitions. In 2023, BuildOps acquired PWSWARE, the parent company of PerfectWare Solutions, a software platform used in machine contracts. The conditions have not been revealed.
The IPO may be on future cards, but there is no clear timeline yet. For now, Buildops is making a big bet on changing the way contractors work.
BuildOps Team
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