A game-changing new technology is in development that leverages drones, thermal imaging, and AI-based analytics, to detect, diagnose and fix building envelope defects faster, cheaper, and more accurately than traditional methods.
Pioneered by startup tech company Lamarr.AI, a $1.1 million pre-seed funding round was successfully completed in October 2024, led by Hazelview Ventures and supported by other venture funds. The investment will allow Lamarr.AI to productize and scale this bleeding-edge solution designed to help building owners eliminate carbon emissions while reducing building maintenance and ownership costs.
“The interest from real estate companies in what we’ve built has been incredibly rewarding after perfecting the technology for nearly a decade in our lab,” said Tarek Rakha, CEO of Lamarr.AI and Associate Professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture. “We are leveraging advances in drones, thermal imaging, and AI to autonomously detect building defects at scale, and with unprecedented accuracy. This innovation is enabling property owners to address faults before they become expensive headaches or environmentally unsustainable threats.”
The startup has already worked with numerous building owners and facilities managers to save more than $1M in engineering and construction costs by automatically identifying problems like deteriorated window seals and leaky roofs, in addition to helping effectively plan and scope large building envelope retrofits.
The use of novel AI to automate the analysis of thermal images captured by drones enables the company to provide actionable insights from building envelope inspections significantly faster, cheaper, and more accurately than manual audits. Furthermore, the team can quantify the impact of defects on energy loss through whole Building Energy Modeling (BEM), allowing for ROI modeling that drives capex decision-making.
“We’re excited to lead Lamarr.AI’s first pre-seed round,” said Roger Poirier, Co-Founder of Hazelview Ventures. “We back startups that can directly drive value in Hazelview’s core real estate business. Lamarr.AI’s innovative inspection service has already had an impact on our operations and is an excellent example of the types of new approaches the industry needs to accelerate the journey to net zero in a financially sustainable way.”
For more information, visit www.lamarr.ai