MeltPlan, a startup aiming to revolutionize the construction industry's preconstruction phase, has secured $10 million in seed funding. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from noa, bringing the company's total capital raised to $14 million. Founded by tech veteran Kanav Hasija and construction expert Tanmaya Kala, MeltPlan is developing an AI-native planning engine to mitigate costly project overruns before they begin.
Addressing a Foundational Industry Challenge
The global construction industry has long been plagued by significant budget overruns and schedule delays, issues that MeltPlan attributes to flawed early-stage planning. Co-founder Kanav Hasija asserts that projects fail not during execution but because preconstruction teams commit to scope and timelines with incomplete information. This upstream fragmentation leads to irreversible and expensive errors once a project is underway, unlike software where a bug can be fixed post-launch.
A New Layer of AI-Powered Planning
MeltPlan is engineering a software layer designed to function as a comprehensive “planning engine” for the industry. This system interprets complex variables like building codes, material costs, and procurement constraints to simulate various project scenarios. By modeling trade-offs before contracts are signed, the platform empowers teams to make more informed decisions and avoid downstream volatility.
The platform is built around four integrated modules: a code system for compliance, a cost system for risk-oriented estimates, a schedule system for scenario-based sequencing, and a value system for trade-off analysis. To validate its domain fluency, the company's software has achieved a score of 95% or higher on building inspector examinations. This internal benchmark demonstrates the system's deep understanding of complex construction regulations and requirements.
Experienced Leadership and Strategic Investment
The company is guided by a leadership team with deep expertise in both technology and construction. Kanav Hasija previously co-founded the multi-billion dollar health-tech firm Innovaccer, while co-founder Tanmaya Kala is a Stanford-trained civil engineer with executive experience at DPR Construction. This blend of skills has attracted significant investor confidence in their vision to tackle a core industry bottleneck.
Bessemer Venture Partners views the preconstruction phase as a critical area ripe for innovation. Pankaj Mitra, a partner at the firm, noted that decisions in the built environment are often irreversible and made under uncertainty. He praised MeltPlan's approach of treating preconstruction as an integrated system rather than a standalone phase, which can quantify tradeoffs early and reduce downstream risks.
Fueling Growth and Future Expansion
The newly acquired $10 million will be instrumental in accelerating MeltPlan's product development and team expansion. The capital is earmarked for enhancing its vertical AI stack and building out its scheduling and value analysis modules to complete the planning engine. The company also plans to more than double its team, growing from 14 to 30 employees, primarily based in India.
MeltPlan is already serving clients in the United States and the United Arab Emirates, establishing an early international footprint. With the fresh funding, the startup is also setting its sights on entering the Indian market in the coming years. This strategic expansion aims to bring its innovative planning solutions to key global construction hubs and further refine its technology.
With its latest funding round, MeltPlan is strongly positioned to introduce a new paradigm of predictive intelligence to the construction sector. By enabling stakeholders to simulate outcomes and quantify risks before breaking ground, the company aims to transform a traditionally reactive process into a proactive one. This AI-driven foresight could bring much-needed efficiency and predictability to the massive $14 trillion global industry.