The key facts

  • Mach9 raised a $34 million Series A (First Round Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Prudence, Quiet Capital)
  • The company abandoned hardware and focused on AI CAD: nearly 100 customers, 2,500+ projects in beta
  • The founder claims the software speeds up the process 10x compared to Autodesk and Bentley Systems

From hardware to software

Mach9 Robotics was founded in 2021 by Alex Baikovitz with the goal of creating a faster and cheaper way to perform visual inspections for civil engineers. The company built the claimed hardware, but Baikovitz realized the bottleneck was not in it: according to him, the real pain for customers lies in workflows, in turning huge volumes of data from laser scanners and imaging systems into survey materials suitable for design. The word 'Robotics' was dropped from the name, and the company pivoted to AI software for CAD.

Funding round

On Wednesday, the startup announced a $34 million Series A round led by First Round Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners. Also participating were Prudence — a New York early-stage fund specializing in AI software for construction and real estate — and existing investor Quiet Capital. Mach9's software is in closed beta: the company has nearly 100 customers who have used the product in more than 2,500 projects.

Product and market

According to Baikovitz, manual processing in legacy software from Autodesk and Bentley Systems takes about a week per mile, with project delivery taking months. Mach9 claims its system automates a significant portion of the work, speeding up the process 10x and reducing costs. The company has been developing its own AI models since 2024 to achieve the centimeter-level accuracy the industry requires: tracing curbs, road markings, etc. The system creates a draft plan from survey data, and engineers refine it using tools for drawing, deleting and adjusting vertices, and assessing model quality — the industry requires licensed professionals due to high liability. The funds will go toward improving the product, hiring industry experts, and scaling the organization.

Market context

Mach9 is one of a number of startups modernizing the chain from planning to construction. In August, CivilGrid raised $26 million to develop a 'Google Maps for underground utilities,' while Blueprints AI, which generates code-compliant architectural drawings in minutes, made the top 200 of the Startup Battlefield competition at TechCrunch Disrupt. Baikovitz believes the earlier hardware experience was useful: it was customers, including a vice president who said he did not need cheaper hardware but needed software to improve the efficiency of large state transportation mapping projects, who pointed the way. Such projects, according to him, make states that have worked with Mach9, such as Texas, safer and more efficient.