Robotics, modular fabrication and construction software converge as corporate VC increases investment in contech.
United States, September 4, 2025
Hilti Ventures has hired Subham Kedia as a senior associate to lead deal sourcing and support for startups in AI-powered robotics, next-generation construction software and modularisation. Kedia brings a mix of recent strategy and operations experience plus prior venture investment work focused on early-stage construction technology. The role bridges hardware and software disciplines, emphasizing automation, factory-built modular methods and AI-enabled scheduling and planning tools. The hire aligns with Hilti Ventures’ broader activity in contech, including participation in an $11 million Series A for a scheduling startup, and signals ongoing corporate interest in reducing delays and boosting on-site productivity.
Subham Kedia has joined Hilti Ventures as a senior associate and will work on deals spanning AI-powered robotics, next-generation construction software and sustainable methods such as modularisation. The move strengthens the corporate venture capital arm of a major U.S. construction group as it continues to back construction-technology startups and expand activity across contech themes including scheduling, reality capture and automated estimating.
Kedia will evaluate and support investments that target automation on the jobsite, software to improve planning and execution, and offsite building approaches that aim to reduce waste and speed delivery. His remit explicitly includes AI-powered robotics—robotics systems that use artificial intelligence to perform or assist construction tasks—and modularisation, the use of factory-built modules to assemble buildings faster and with more predictable quality.
Kedia joins from a brief stint as strategy and operations manager at a software and professional services firm. Prior to that, he worked as a senior investment associate at a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in construction technology startups. A headshot associated with the hire is credited as courtesy of LinkedIn.
Hilti Ventures has remained active in the funding market. In November it joined an $11 million Series A round for a San Francisco-based construction scheduling and planning software provider focused on real-time insights and project analytics through customizable dashboards. The round was led by a venture firm in San Francisco and included other strategic and specialist investors. That investment aims to double the company’s commercial growth by fall 2025, support significant team expansion and advance an AI-inclusive product roadmap.
The scheduling software is positioned to help construction teams optimize scheduling, increase efficiency and reduce delays by offering real-time project analytics and customizable dashboards. This fits squarely with Kedia’s new responsibilities, which emphasize both software and AI tools that can improve jobsite planning and delivery.
The hire comes amid a wider funding cycle for construction technology. Investors have put capital into modular apartment builders, AI-based contract platforms, scheduling software and reality-capture firms. One modular company secured roughly €100 million to expand a timber-hybrid, factory-based production line and to complete a pipeline of projects, while a reality-capture and data-management provider raised about €37 million to accelerate platform development and expand internationally. Other examples include AI-driven contract review platforms and platforms that use machine learning to automate electrical estimating.
Financial data from industry corporate venture units shows sequential growth in contech investing in a recent quarter, with hundreds of millions of dollars deployed across dozens of deals. Those flows underline corporate appetite for software, robotics and modular approaches that promise productivity gains, lower onsite waste and tighter schedules.
The corporate venture arm is part of a broader shift by the parent company to move beyond tools and into software and services. The group has formed partnerships with multiple software companies and made strategic investments in sensor, robotics and software firms in recent years. Its commercial approach combines direct sales and onsite consultation with investment and integration efforts designed to help subcontractors and craftsmen adopt software and digital asset-management workflows.
In parallel efforts, the company has worked on tool-tracking platforms and integrations with telematics and asset-management vendors to reduce losses and improve productivity. Executives at the parent group have highlighted opportunities to help subcontractors—who make up the largest share of the customer base—get started with project and asset-management software and to capture measurable productivity benefits.
The new senior associate will source and support investments in construction technology, with a focus on AI-driven robotics, next-generation construction software and modular building solutions.
Hilti Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of a U.S.-based construction group. It invests in contech startups and partners with software and hardware firms to broaden its product and services ecosystem.
A recent Series A investment in a construction scheduling and planning software company is directly aligned with the hire’s focus, as the software provides real-time insights, customizable dashboards and an AI-inclusive roadmap to improve scheduling and reduce delays.
Investors are backing AI tools, modular construction, reality capture and automated estimating. Funding rounds across these areas show sustained interest in technologies that boost productivity, lower costs and shorten schedules.
The combination of venture investments, software partnerships and direct sales support is intended to make it easier for contractors—especially subcontractors—to adopt integrated solutions for project management and asset tracking, helping to capture productivity gains on the jobsite.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| New senior associate | Focused on AI robotics, next-generation construction software and modular construction investments. |
| Corporate investor | Hilti Ventures—invests in contech startups and integrates investments with product and service strategy. |
| Recent Series A participation | Joined an $11M Series A in a scheduling and planning software company; round led by a San Francisco investor and includes multiple strategic backers. |
| Sector trends | Capital flowing into AI-enabled tools, modular construction, reality capture and automated estimating; contech investments rose sequentially in a recent quarter. |
| Strategic aim | Combine direct sales, partnerships and investments to help contractors adopt software and capture productivity benefits. |
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