Y Combinator construction tech startups (2026): 19 YC companies in our directory, what they do and how they price

This is a directory note, not a ranking. On Oct 18, 2026 we read the Y Combinator company profile and the company's own website for 19 YC-backed companies whose profiles describe construction or built-environment work. Five were already in our directory (Agave, Provision, Karmen, Trayd and PermitFlow) and were re-checked; 14 are new listings. They are grouped by the job they do and listed by YC batch inside each group. Batch names come from each YC profile.

Every product description, AI feature and figure below is a vendor statement from those two sources. YC backing tells you who invested, not whether a product works on your projects, and none of these tools has been tested by Means & Methods Lab. Several companies are from 2026 batches and describe pilots or early deployments, so expect pages and prices to change quickly.

PermitFlow (Winter 2022) describes AI agents that research, file, track and close out permits with each jurisdiction; its YC profile now calls it an AI platform for preconstruction. Provision (Summer 2022) reads contracts, specs and drawings to flag risks and obligations and sells per project: Chat Agent from $50, Risk Review from $100 and Scope Agent from $500 per project.

Karmen (Fall 2024) builds and updates construction schedules from project documents and exports to Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project. Brickanta (Fall 2025), based in Stockholm, runs agents that read tender documents, repackage an RFP into procurement packages and review contracts against Swedish construction law; Quickstart is listed at about €890 per user per month.

PLAN0 (Spring 2026) turns architectural drawings into a takeoff, a 3D model and a cost estimate for developers, investors and general contractors, with what-if re-estimates and cost forecasts; it is demo-only. FlowManual (Summer 2026) links on-screen takeoff for mechanical, ductwork, concrete and general counts to an estimating workbook, adds scope review and bid leveling, and has a free plan with a daily usage allowance.

Constructable (Summer 2023) is project management for mid-size commercial general contractors, positioned against Procore, Autodesk and Fieldwire. It publishes three flat monthly bundles ($850, $2,000 and $3,500) with unlimited users and says its AI features (an answer engine with source links, scale detection, punch item autofill) are included in every plan.

Opusense (Spring 2025) drafts field inspection and site reports from spoken notes and photos, for inspectors, engineering consultants, GCs and facility teams; it lists $49, $79 and $149 per user per month and a 14-day free trial. Alloovium (Summer 2026) lets site teams phone in updates to an AI that asks follow-up questions, fills the chosen form, checks the update against project documents and procedures and prepares actions for a person to approve.

Agave (Winter 2022) syncs construction ERP and project management systems and sells AI-assisted AP automation, expense management, analytics, vendor compliance and custom agents, priced by custom proposal. Trayd (Summer 2023) is construction payroll with certified payroll, union and prevailing-wage support, job costing and accounting; its homepage does not describe AI features.

Dili (Summer 2023) automates prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance: its AI reads certified payroll in any format and checks it against wage determinations, and it also sells full-service monitoring and look-back reviews to developers and EPCs. Its YC profile says it has helped customers secure over $1 billion in federal funding (vendor claim).

Clad (Winter 2023) is project management and billing software for fiber and power infrastructure contractors; its Clad Locates product uses AI to write 811 locate narratives and track tickets, with plans at $0, $250 and $450 a month. SubVysion (Summer 2026) maps underground utilities with ground-penetrating radar and 3D surface data and shows them on site in a phone AR app.

sizeless (Summer 2023), based in Zurich, turns a smartphone video of an open trench or house connection into a point cloud, a CAD as-built plan and GIS-ready exports. Carbon Crusher (Winter 2022) reclaims existing roads on site with a bio-based binder and sells SkyRoads, AI software that detects and grades pavement distress. The website on its YC profile returned a not-found page when we checked; carboncrusher.com describes the same company.

Pave Robotics (Winter 2025) builds a truck-towed robot that finds asphalt cracks with cameras and lidar and seals them, and says it is booking pilots with DOTs, cities and paving contractors. Flywheel AI (Summer 2025) retrofits existing excavators for remote operation and says the data will train autonomous control; its site is a single contact page.

Marengo (Summer 2026) is an engineering firm, not a software product: it uses in-house AI tools to speed up data center site due diligence, feasibility, concept and FEED design, and says licensed engineers review every design before delivery.

Publish prices: Provision (per project), Brickanta (Quickstart per user), Clad (Locates plans only; the core product is quote-only), Constructable (flat monthly bundles) and Opusense (per user). Free plan without paid figures: FlowManual. No public prices: Agave, Karmen, Trayd, PermitFlow, Dili, PLAN0, Alloovium, SubVysion, sizeless, Carbon Crusher, Pave Robotics, Flywheel AI and Marengo.

List prices are on different units (per project, per user, per company, per ticket volume), so they are not comparable line by line. Each tool page records the source and the date we read it.

These are our suggestions, not findings. Ask how many customers run the product in production rather than a pilot, and whether any are your size and trade. Ask what happens to your data and exports if the company pivots or is acquired. Ask which features on the website are live today and which are on the roadmap. For field hardware (robots, retrofits, scanners), ask who operates it on your site, who carries the liability, and what a pilot costs before you commit.