Suffolk Technologies Showcases Groundbreaking Built World Innovations at Fifth Annual BOOST Demo Day

Suffolk Technologies hosted nine built world startups at its fifth annual Demo Day event to celebrate the culmination of its eight-week BOOST accelerator program.

Suffolk Technologies BOOST 5 participant Zhihao Zhao of Genia pitches to the Demo Day audience at Suffolk’s Roxbury, Massachusetts, headquarters. (Photo: Business Wire)

November 15, 2024 06:05 PM Eastern Standard Time

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Suffolk Technologies hosted its 5th annual BOOST Demo Day, marking a significant milestone in its built world accelerator program. The event took place at Suffolk’s National Headquarters in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and was part of an expanded Boston Built Week, which featured collaborations with the Foundation for Innovation in Real Estate, Built Worlds, the C-Tech Club, and others.

“This year marked our most impactful BOOST program yet. We partnered with 36 industry-leading operators, expanded the length of the program to eight weeks, kicked off seven paid pilots, and launched two new products. And this year’s Demo Day welcomed our largest audience in the history of the BOOST program”Post this

The Suffolk Technologies BOOST program is a unique bridge between industry and innovation, connecting entrepreneurs with real-world applications. Through its vibrant community of global leaders—including general contractors, trade partners, building owners/operators, materials suppliers, technology providers, and a strong alumni network —BOOST empowers innovators to develop and refine their products and go-to-market strategies within a diverse, global testbed. At the same time, it offers large operators the chance to stay ahead of emerging trends and drive the adoption of new technologies within their organizations.

Demo Day provided a platform for the five startups in the BOOST 5 cohort—Artic, Genia, Kroo, novl, and Tangible—to showcase their products and progress to an audience of more than 400 investors, prospective customers, industry leaders, and fellow entrepreneurs. Four additional startups from Suffolk Technologies’ existing portfolio—Anodet, Ediphi, Exodigo, and Handle—also presented and shared their cutting-edge solutions for advancing the built environment.

“This year marked our most impactful BOOST program yet. We partnered with 36 industry-leading operators, expanded the length of the program to eight weeks, kicked off seven paid pilots, and launched two new products. And this year’s Demo Day welcomed our largest audience in the history of the BOOST program,” said Parker Mundt, VP of Platform at Suffolk Technologies. “There is an infinite number of construction technology startups just waiting to be discovered so they can bring their technologies to market, add real value to jobsites and transform the built world for future generations of builders. We are excited to grow our BOOST program, partner with many of these companies and invest in their futures. After just five years since we launched BOOST, we feel we’re just getting started.”

The event began with a fireside chat featuring William Schlacks, Co-founder and President of EquipmentShare, alongside Puneet Mahajan, Suffolk’s Chief Financial Officer. The discussion explored the inspirations driving EquipmentShare, the power of data in construction, and Schlacks’s experience as an entrepreneur.

“Six years ago, after closely evaluating the state of the construction industry and its slower pace of innovation, we decided to launch an accelerator program like no other. Today, the Suffolk Technologies BOOST program has become the nation’s most innovative accelerator program for built world startups committed to disrupting and transforming the construction industry,” said John Fish, Chairman and CEO of Suffolk. “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entrepreneurs and startups from this year’s BOOST program and Demo Day for their dedication and achievements.”

Over the past eight weeks, BOOST 5 participants attended curated workshops led by industry experts on topics including go-to-market strategy, integrations, risk management, hiring, legal and fundraising. They developed partnerships across Suffolk Technologies’ network, including with other portfolio founders, Operating Partners, Suffolk project teams, and leaders throughout the building supply chain. Participants were able to launch new products, land pilot projects, develop case studies, and more.

Genia was honored with the “People’s Choice Award” through a live vote following the pitches. Awards were also handed out to the Suffolk Team Member of the year, Joshua Weyand, and several Operating Partners including Axiom Builders, Bouygues, Century Drywall, Simpson Strong-Tie, and Weyerhaeuser. Following the company pitches, 14 startups exhibited in Suffolk’s café including the nine presenters and BOOST alumni Kaya AI, Qflow, Rugged Robotics, Trunk Tools, and Wint.

With the culmination of the BOOST 5, the program has now graduated 30 companies that have gone on to raise more than $525 million in venture funding and continue to drive long-lasting, positive change in the AECO industry.

This year, BOOST is presented in partnership with 36 industry partners including Autodesk, Moog Construction, Holcim, Axiom Builders, Group AMANA, McCusker-Gill, Inc., Liberty Mutual Insurance, Procore Technologies, Suffolk Construction, Swire Properties, Suffolk Design, Liberty Construction, ARCO Murray, Century Drywall Inc., Feldman Geospatial, Gunderson Dettmer, LMRE, Thornton Tomasetti, Zwick Construction, Acciona, BI Group, Bluebeam, Bouygues, Build Boston, Cupertino Electric, Harkins Builders, Insperity, McKinstry, RXR, Schneider Electric, Simpson Strong-Tie, Socotec, The Select Group, Tidhar, ViaTechnik, and Weyerhaeuser.

About Suffolk Technologies
Suffolk Technologies is a venture capital platform funding the next generation of companies solving built environment challenges. Suffolk Technologies was recently recognized by AGC Partners as the #1 most active construction technology venture capital investor from 2018 to 2022. Led by Managing Partners Wan Li Zhu, Jit Kee Chin, and Puneet Mahajan, Suffolk Technologies invests in early and growth-stage startups transforming the built world across real estate and development, architecture, engineering and construction, property management, and smart cities. Leveraging Suffolk’s expertise and broad network of industry leaders, Suffolk Technologies partners with visionary founders to accelerate industry-wide adoption of breakthrough innovations ranging from pre-product to growth stages. For more information about Suffolk Technologies’ strategy and investments, visit SuffolkTech.com.

About Suffolk
Suffolk is a national enterprise that builds, innovates and invests. Suffolk is an end-to-end business that provides value throughout the entire project lifecycle by leveraging its core construction management services with vertical service lines that include real estate capital investment, design, self-perform construction services, technology start-up investment (Suffolk Technologies) and innovation research/development.

Suffolk – America’s Contractor – is a national company with more than $5.5 billion in annual revenue, 2,800 employees, and offices in Boston, Massachusetts (headquarters); New York City, New York; Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa and Estero in Florida; Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego in California; Portland, Maine; and Herndon, Virginia. Suffolk manages some of the most complex, sophisticated projects in the country, serving clients in every major industry sector, including healthcare, life sciences, education, gaming, transportation/aviation, federal government and public work, mission critical and commercial. Suffolk is privately held and is led by founder, chairman and CEO John Fish. Suffolk is ranked #8 on ENR’s list of “Top CM-at-Risk Contractors.” For more information, visit www.suffolk.com and follow Suffolk on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.