The Venture Studio Model

The Smart City Works Venture Studio help urban tech startups focused on Infrastructure and Construction to scale and evolve into fully commercialized and viable companies. This uses an apprenticeship model where the studio team becomes a working extension of the startup, helping them de-risk and accelerate their path to future funding or exit. It is supported by corporate members companies and industry groups and agencies to gain line of sight into innovation, access to talent, and where appropriate, curated deal flow.

Key Areas of Urban Tech Innovation in Infrastructure and Construction Markets

There are multiple areas across infrastructure where innovation will play a key role. In addition to traditional considerations there are growing imperatives to consider:

  • Energy/ Carbon Reduction
  • Sustainable Infrastructure/ Green Transport
  • Resilience, Public Health and Public Safety
  • Cybersecurity/ Use of Urban Data and IoT
  • Worker Safety
  • Smart Mobility
  • And more..

Startups accepted into the studio will be addressing needs across this spectrum.

Cumulative Investment Needs by System Based on Current Trends, 2020-2029

High Impact Targets for Innovation

There are numerous technologies that can address the key imperatives for Construction and Infrastructure. These represent relevant technologies for improving coordination, saving time and money, improving safety, driving sustainability and more. These targeted technologies include but are not limited to:

  • Advanced communications, including 5G, LoRa, and UWB
  • Augmented and Virtual Reality, especially for increased worker safety and worker productivity
  • Increased Drone Utilization, especially for difficult and dangerous site inspection and site monitoring
  • Increased and More Granular Asset Tracking to reduce theft, save time in tracking down tools and materials, and feeding asset information into site coordination systems
  • More Effective Ecosystem Coordination, including BIM systems and Lean Construction methodologies, including platforms that integrate a variety of information for mor effective communications and alignment