When Altaf Ganihar became privy the tedious design process managed by architects and designers. He knew a solution for these hurdles was vital. This is how Snaptrude came to be. A leading player in the building design SaaS industry; it competes against traditional platforms in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) design sector. Enabling web-based collaborations with its modern approach, the startup has raised $14 million in a Series A funding round led by Foundamental and Accel.
The startup has raised a total of $21.8 million; this includes the $6.6 million seed round led by the same investors in January. Reaching this milestone just 10 months after announcing its seed funding. According to a company statement, the startup will use the fresh capital to expand its growing product and engineering teams. It also aims to push forward its go-to-market strategy and global presence.
Offering an innovative, cloud-based software suite for designers, developers, and architects; Snaptrude promotes a building design tool that enables real-time collaboration and data insights on budget, compliance, and climate considerations. Unlike Autodesk’s Revit and AutoCAD, users get dedicated control and features that allow them to collaborate with their colleagues.
The platform functions as an operating system for design and construction workflows, similar to Figma for designers. As a rare New Age startup in the building information modelling (BIM) domain, Snaptrude offers a comprehensive alternative to traditional solutions. It can process design drafts from various platforms, such as Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, or simple PDFs. Designers can also export their designs from Snaptrude to Revit without any data loss.
A rising player in the AEC industry
Established in 2017 and led by CEO and founder Altaf Ganihar; Snaptrude only launched its platform out of beta earlier this year. After thoroughly testing and garnering feedback from users around the world, the startup is looking forward to the next step. It recently introduced a new version of its product called Sketch to BIM. This version allows users to have greater control over their design process by enabling the initial sketch of a construction project to be converted into 3D BIM models. This shift has the possibility of replacing the existing design tools and making Snaptrude the ultimate solution.
“The product development velocity has been up to the point where we have started seeing dozens and dozens of firms globally who are working with us on a very close basis to be able to drive adoption. And that has really impacted the global visibility of what Snaptrude is about to do,” said Altaf Ganihar, founder and CEO of Snaptrude.
Since January, the startup has increased its user base from over 6,000 users to more than 20,000; with users from over 30 countries. Its freemium plan allows its initial users to explore its offerings before moving to the paid options. It works with global companies like WeWork, Layton Construction, Hines, Square Yards, and Accenture, among others. While Snaptrude has its office in Bengaluru, the U.S., U.K., and Europe are its primary markets.
“Snaptrude has emerged as the global front-runner in creating the next-generation design stack for the AEC industry. We’re delighted to be doubling down on our partnership with Altaf and Snaptrude and look forward to seeing how the platform grows to tackle this urgent challenge,” said Shubhankar Bhattacharya, general partner at Foundamental.
Implementing AI to navigate the labyrinth-like design process
To increase efficiency, the platform is also implementing AI. To navigate design and architecture copyrights, Snaptrude is combining the legacy knowledge of firms with existing base models like LLaMAs and GPTs. This offers the firms seamless AI integration while ensuring their data privacy. The startup will utilise AI to propel the legacy knowledge used by firms in their existing projects through text-based prompts to provide access to the required information.
“We have actually proven with dozens and dozens of global firms that were able to replace it and work in their ecosystem—not just for test use cases but for their actual production use cases where they designed real buildings using the platform,” shared Ganihar.
Snaptrude’s AI integration allows firms to inquire about specific details, like cost changes in recent design iterations. It also targets broader requests, such as drafting a residential building in a specific city, yielding rapid results. While the market response to the latest update is uncertain, Snaptrude has still attracted investors twice in less than a year. Ganihar attributes the additional capital raise to the startup’s predictable product.
According to the founder, with foundations set, the route for Snaptrude is to just go deeper. With a capital-intensive business, it takes a lot to create an IP. Autodesk took 8–10 years to get a version of a product that today dominates. The startup is in a phase where it can accelerate these efforts.
“Snaptrude’s inventive conceptual design methodology, paired with its impressive market momentum, firmly establishes it as a pioneer in catalysing transformation within the AEC sector. We wholeheartedly embrace their vision and are excited to remain steadfast in our support for their journey of expansion and innovation,” said Prashanth Prakash, partner at Accel.
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