Aramco backs Riyadh-based construction AI startup

• TruBuild says its AI cuts cost overruns
• Analyses contracts and scope
• Already working with developers

Saudi Aramco’s venture arm has led a $1 million seed funding round for TruBuild, a construction technology startup based in Riyadh that uses artificial intelligence to cut project delays and cost overruns. 

“With growing scrutiny on giga-project timelines and budgets, there’s a clear urgency to prevent costly delays and rework,” Bisrat Degefa, CEO of TruBuild, told AGBI. 

“TruBuild’s AI flags risks early, before they escalate, ensuring every riyal is spent efficiently in today’s tighter fiscal climate.” 

Saudi Arabia is spending up to $1 trillion on tourist, infrastructure and other projects designed to reduce its reliance on oil and create jobs for a growing and relatively young population. 

• Saudi companies reap savings benefits with AI

• Arabic AI developers struggle with unique challenges

• The Gulf’s time to seize AI leadership is now

TruBuild, founded in 2023, focuses on the early stages of construction, using machine learning to analyse contracts, scopes and requests for proposals. 

The platform targets common pain points such as ambiguous tender language and consultant mismatch, often the cause of rework and budget overruns.

Degefa said TruBuild aims to reduce a reliance on costly international consultants by giving local teams the tools to meet global delivery standards more efficiently.

Saudi’s $500 billion futuristic city project Neom has been at the centre of a dispute between PIF and PwC, which led the sovereign wealth fund to suspend new contracts with the professional services company for a year, Bloomberg reported last month.

TruBuild says its AI can cut procurement review time by 70 percent and reduce human error by up to 40 percent. 

It is in early rollout with Saudi government-linked developers, including Osool Real Estate, which manages more than SAR200 billion ($53 billion) in assets. 

Degefa said the technology was also being used by developers involved in giga-projects but declined to identify them, citing confidentiality.

The funding round was co-led by Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures and the design and engineering consultancy Dar Al-Handasah’s Dar Ventures, and included Plug & Play Ventures, OQAL, Taz Investment and angels such as the former CEO of Atkins Middle East, Simon Moon. 

Degefa said the company planned to expand into other Gulf markets. “After Saudi, we’re actively eyeing the UAE and the wider GCC,” he said. “We’re also in early-stage discussions in the UK and the US.”

Construction costs in the region are rising, with the UAE-based consultancy Stonehaven saying it expects costs to increase by as much as 7 percent in Saudi Arabia as the tariff war between US and China adds to inflation risks.

Wa’ed has also backed construction and real estate startups such as WakeCap, Mighty Buildings and Stake.