Structured AI, a London startup founded by Oxford graduates Raymond Zhao, Brandon Smith and Isabel Greenslade, has raised approximately €435,000 in a pre-Seed round closed in just one week. Backed by Zero Prime Ventures, Airtree Ventures and the Oxford Seed Fund, the funding supports its mission to automate design engineering tasks that slow down productivity in the construction industry.
The company is targeting a core inefficiency in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector: the time engineers spend on repetitive documentation. Structured AI estimates that up to 30% of engineers’ time goes to administrative tasks, a drag on project timelines exacerbated by a global shortage of skilled professionals. The construction sector represents over 5% of US GDP, making productivity gains here economically significant.
“The future increasingly demands smarter, more sustainable infrastructure and the engineers who design our cities and infrastructure are some of the most critical problem solvers we have,” said Raymond Zhao, Co-founder and CEO. “Yet, even with a severe global engineering talent shortage, firms are sinking over a third of their expert hours into manual, repetitive work. Our mission at Structured AI is to give engineers back their most valuable asset: time, freeing them up to design the infrastructure of tomorrow.”
Structured AI’s tools are built specifically for the AEC industry, reflecting a growing AI trend toward sector-specific solutions rather than general-purpose platforms. Its agents integrate into complex engineering workflows, meeting safety and compliance standards while being quick to deploy.
Yang Tran, Partner at Zero Prime Ventures, underscored the significance of this approach: “AI and multimodality are unlocking massive opportunities across vertical-specific industries. We believe the next generation of software will be deeply verticalised, transforming domain-specific workflows to drive efficiency, intelligence and better decision-making.”
The startup’s first product, now in pilot with a top-150 US design engineering firm, automates technical paperwork and streamlines collaboration between engineers, architects and contractors. The aim is faster, more efficient project delivery.
Structured AI joins a wave of AI innovation transforming construction, alongside firms like Volve in Norway, ConeLabs in Canada and Singapore’s Wenti Labs. These companies are embedding AI into inspection, documentation and decision-making processes, part of a global shift to more intelligent infrastructure workflows.
Academic research is also showing the promise of large language models in automating complex construction tasks. LLM-based multi-agent systems are now outperforming traditional methods in foundation design and scheduling, pointing to broad potential for AI in engineering.
Operating in two-week sprints, Structured AI prioritises speed and direct client collaboration. “The only true differentiation in startups is urgency – and I’ve not met many teams who have as much urgency as Raymond, Isabel and Brandon,” said James Cameron, Partner at Airtree Ventures.
Structured AI’s early success highlights the UK’s growing role in responsible AI development. By freeing engineers from routine work and focusing on tailored, sector-native solutions, the startup is helping shape a more efficient and sustainable future for global infrastructure.
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