Cascade: The AI Startup That Predicts Construction Projects Before They Go Public

In the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, the most expensive projects are the ones a firm never sees. Cascade, an AI pursuit platform founded by former Google operators Hannia Zia and Joana Ferreira, is changing that by predicting projects before they become public.

The startup recently raised a $3.5 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz's Speedrun accelerator, with participation from Ada Ventures, Blitzscaling Ventures, Indico Capital Partners, shuckerVC, G2C Ventures, and Snowball VC . Its platform has already surfaced over $10 billion in project opportunities for clients, including major contractors working on high-profile infrastructure projects such as JFK and LaGuardia airports .

How Cascade's AI Predicts Projects Before RFPs

Cascade's AI continuously monitors a wide range of public signals to detect and surface upcoming projects before requests for proposals (RFPs) are ever issued. The data sources include :

• Bond filings and municipal finance documents
• Budget announcements and capital plans
• Permits and zoning filings
• Property transactions and real estate records
• Earnings transcripts (where companies disclose expansion plans)
• Meeting minutes from government and planning boards

The platform then enriches these signals with project scope, timeline, key decision-makers, and competitive intelligence, helping AEC firms prioritize and begin positioning early .

As co-founder and CEO Hannia Zia put it: "Every firm we work with can point to a project they should have won but never even had a chance to see" .

Founders and Background

Cascade was founded in 2025 by Hannia Zia and Joana Ferreira, both former operators at Google and Amazon who met at UnlikelyAI, the neuro-symbolic AI startup founded by the co-creator of Amazon Alexa . Zia serves as CEO and Ferreira as CTO. The startup is dual-based in London and New York City .

The founding team combined big-tech AI expertise with firsthand experience of how early project intelligence—often buried in public records—gave some AEC firms an unfair advantage .

Traction and Client Results

• Cascade has surfaced over $10 billion in project opportunities for its clients .
• Its customers include major contractors and firms working on high-profile infrastructure projects, such as those building for JFK and LaGuardia airports, as well as data centers and nuclear facilities .
• Clients also span luxury hotels and other large-scale developments .

Use of Funds

Cascade plans to use the seed funding to :

• Expand its engineering and go-to-market teams
• Accelerate product development, including deeper AI capabilities and broader signal coverage
• Scale sales and customer acquisition across the AEC sector

The funding will also help the startup industrialize the head start that some firms have traditionally gained through relationships and spreadsheets .