Construction AI startup raises $6M as Colorado grocery strike ends

Denver, Colorado, September 25, 2025

News Summary

Denver-based LightTable closed a $6 million seed round to scale its AI-driven plan review platform that ingests PDFs of drawings and specifications and returns prioritized issue lists in 10–45 minutes. The startup doubled its team, plans further hiring, and reports its software currently catches 60–65% of errors with a roadmap to reach about 90% next year. LightTable has analyzed millions of square feet across dozens of projects and charges per square foot. Separately in Colorado, grocery workers ended a multi-store strike after a tentative agreement on 45 contract provisions covering wages, benefits and pension protections.

Construction tech startup raises $6 million to speed plan reviews; Colorado grocery workers reach tentative deal

LightTable closed a $6 million seed round, a raise that immediately doubled the team and aims to accelerate development of an artificial intelligence tool that automates construction-plan peer review. In a separate labor development in Colorado, workers at dozens of Safeway and Albertsons stores ended a weeks‑long strike after the union announced a tentative contract covering pay, benefits and job protections.

What investors funded and what the company will do next

Primary Venture Partners led the $6 million round, with participation from Innovation Endeavors, MetaProp, angel investors and the Deming Center Venture Fund of the University of Colorado Boulder. The company plans to use the funding to hire product engineers and hire experienced construction experts, architects, engineers and general contractors, and to expand its engineering work on the product.

Who runs the startup and where it operates

LightTable is a Denver-based startup. LightTable was founded in 2024. The founding team includes Paul Zeckser is a co‑founder of LightTable and is LightTable’s CEO, Dan Becker is a co‑founder of LightTable and is its chief technology officer (CTO), and Ben Waters is a co‑founder of LightTable, a former architect at Gensler, and heads up growth for the business. The company works from an office in the Venture X space in LoDo in Denver.

Product, customers and early performance

The product accepts PDFs of design documents, drawings and specifications uploaded by users. Developers upload site plans and LightTable’s AI agent reviews them, running a full coordination check for constructability, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering, accessibility, and fire and life safety.

LightTable’s AI review currently takes between about 10 and 45 minutes. The company reports that the software currently catches between 60% and 65% of all errors. LightTable projects that the AI will catch around 90% of errors within a year. The startup has analyzed 2.5 million square feet across 50 projects so far and expects to have analyzed around 10 million square feet by the end of the year, adding hospitals, data centers and labs to its project mix.

LightTable charges customers per square foot on each individual project. The product produces a prioritized list of issues for project stakeholders and highlights items likely to become costly requests for information and change orders if not addressed. The company reports working with two of the largest multifamily developers in the country and has a pilot agreement with a Florida‑based national developer. One early client reported that the tool found mistakes far faster than outside experts had.

Team, staffing and hiring plans

LightTable doubled its team from five people to 10 after the $6 million raise. About half of the staff are AI and software engineers and the company employs a few construction and architecture veterans. LightTable expects to add another five people to its office in the next four to six months.

How the technology works and accuracy comparisons

LightTable uses available large language models and computer vision models and has built a proprietary code base on top of those models. The company developed the product with guidance and expertise from architects, engineers and general contractors. AI engineers work closely with architects and structural engineers to tailor the system for construction plan review.

The firm says current human peer review catches around 50% of problems; by contrast LightTable reports the software catches between 60% and 65% of errors today and forecasts near 90% within a year. The startup also reports that widely available chatbots may catch up to roughly 15% of problems. LightTable claims its AI identifies four times more issues than traditional peer reviews and reduces coordination mistakes on job sites by up to 70%.

Labor update: Colorado grocery strike paused after tentative deal

Workers at dozens of Colorado Safeway and Albertsons stores ended their strike on a Saturday after the union announced a breakthrough in contract negotiations. The move follows a strike that began June 15 at stores in three Front Range cities and at the company’s Denver distribution center and that expanded to 48 of the 80 Safeway locations in Colorado over several weeks.

The union announced a tentative agreement covering 45 key contract provisions that include higher wages, improved dental and vision benefits, a fully funded pension and protection against union work going to gig companies such as DoorDash. The union described the tentative contract as all gains, no concessions. Ratification meetings are being scheduled and union members have been asked to return to work by Monday. Company representatives said the company is pleased to have reached a fair and equitable agreement that will benefit associates and allow continued service to customers.

Context and next steps

LightTable plans to use its seed funding to expand engineering and hire experienced construction professionals to improve and scale the product. The company believes improving error finding and coordination in design documents will reduce construction delays and costly change orders. The grocery workers’ tentative agreement still requires a ratification vote by union members before it becomes final.

{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “FAQPage”,
“mainEntity”: [
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Where is LightTable based?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “LightTable is a Denver-based startup.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “When was LightTable founded?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “LightTable was founded in 2024.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Who are the founders and what are their roles?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “Paul Zeckser is a co‑founder of LightTable and is LightTable’s CEO. Dan Becker is a co‑founder of LightTable and is its chief technology officer (CTO). Ben Waters is a co‑founder of LightTable, a former architect at Gensler, and heads up growth for the business.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “How much funding did the company raise?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “LightTable closed a $6 million seed round.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Who led the funding round?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “Primary Venture Partners led the $6 million round.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Did any university fund participate?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “The Deming Center Venture Fund of the University of Colorado Boulder contributed to the raise.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “How large is the LightTable team now?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “LightTable doubled its team from five people to 10 after the $6 million raise.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “How long do AI reviews take?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “LightTable’s AI review currently takes between about 10 and 45 minutes.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What error detection rate does the software have now?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “LightTable’s software currently catches between 60% and 65% of all errors.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “How much project area has LightTable analyzed so far?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “LightTable has analyzed 2.5 million square feet across 50 projects so far.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Will LightTable hire more people soon?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “LightTable expects to add another five people to its office in the next four to six months.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What happened with the Colorado grocery strike?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “Workers at dozens of Colorado Safeway and Albertsons stores ended their strike on a Saturday after the union announced a breakthrough in contract negotiations.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “When did the strike begin?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “The strike began June 15.”
}
}
]
}

Key features at a glance

Deeper Dive: News & Info About This Topic

Additional Resources

• The Denver Post: LightTable closed a $6 million seed round
• Wikipedia: Construction technology
• Commercial Observer: LightTable seed round
• Google Search: LightTable seed funding
• The Denver Post: Safeway/Albertsons strike ends with tentative contract
• Wikipedia: United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)
• The Denver Post: Denver trash and compost collection furloughs
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Waste management
• The Denver Post: JCPenney, Macy’s leaving Northfield Shops
• Google News: Northfield Shops Denver JCPenney Macys

Author: Construction NY News

NEW YORK STAFF WRITER The NEW YORK STAFF WRITER represents the experienced team at constructionnynews.com, your go-to source for actionable local news and information in New York and beyond. Specializing in "news you can use," we cover essential topics like product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news affecting the area—with deep expertise drawn from years of dedicated reporting and strong community input, including local press releases and business updates. We deliver top reporting on high-value events such as the New York Build Expo, infrastructure breakthroughs, and cutting-edge construction technology showcases. Our coverage extends to key organizations like the Associated General Contractors of New York State and the Building Trades Employers' Association, plus leading businesses in construction and real estate that power the local economy such as Turner Construction Company and CMiC Global. As part of the broader network, including constructioncanews.com, constructiontxnews.com, and constructionflnews.com, we provide comprehensive, credible insights into the dynamic construction landscape across multiple states.