Startups are everywhere in construction. Builders want them to meet the moment. | Construction Dive

An article from Deep Dive Startups are everywhere in construction. Builders want them to meet the moment. As contech firms offer their services to contractors, building experts say technologies need innovation, a product-market fit and proven problem-solving capabilities. Published April 8, 2026 Matthew Thibault Reporter Share Copy link Email LinkedIn X/Twitter Facebook Print License Add us on Google Getty Images Listen to the article 8 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Construction has a reputation as a Luddite industry. This label isn’t without merit. Consider the oft-cited 2017 productivity report from consulting firm McKinsey, which revealed that labor-productivity growth in the construction industry was only 1% per year over the prior two decades, compared to 2.8% for the total world economy and 3.6% for manufacturing. This improvement gap remains an issue: A 2024 follow-on report from McKinsey showed that construction productivity improved by only 10%, or 0.4% annually, between 2000 and 2022. Again, these productivity gains lagged severely behind the total world economy and manufacturing, which posted 50% and 90% gains respectively. But the tide is turning as contractors across the country embrace new technologies to aid in tasks across the built lifecycle, such as to speed up invoicing, implement autonomous machinery on jobsites and deal with change order management, not to mention the advent of artificial intelligence and ge...