NavigateAI launched with $25 million in seed funding to develop artificial intelligence copilots for field workers in construction and trades industries. The San Francisco-based company was founded by Eric Wu, who previously co-founded Opendoor (NASDAQ: OPEN).

The seed round was led by Elad Gil with participation from Khosla Ventures, Lennar, Tishman Speyer, and Helix Electric. Angel investors include executives from Ramp, Invitation Homes, Harvey.ai, Decagon, DoorDash, and others.

NavigateAI's technology operates on smartphones with cameras and integrates with Meta Glasses through a partnership with Meta. The system provides real-time guidance, project scoping, quality control, and access to technical documentation for construction workers.

The company has established partnerships with several industry players including homebuilder Lennar, property management company Roofstock, electrical trade school AIM, and commercial real estate firm Tishman Speyer.

"The partnership between Lennar and NavigateAI is designed to put modern technology shoulder to shoulder with our talented Trade Partners as we build the homes America needs with the high quality America expects," said Stuart Miller, CEO of Lennar Corporation.

NavigateAI targets the construction industry, which represents $2.2 trillion in annual spending in the United States. The company cites labor shortages in construction as a key market driver, with hundreds of thousands of unfilled positions annually.

The founding team includes former employees from Opendoor, Stripe, DeepMind, Stanford, and Google. Wu previously led Opendoor from startup to public company status.

"Eric is one of the best founders I've backed multiple times now going after one of the biggest unsolved problems in the economy," said lead investor Elad Gil.