Build Technologies AI Draw Agent handles billions in CRE lending

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If you rent an apartment, you’ve probably “talked” to an AI agent to help fix a leaky toilet. But what if you are a builder applying for funds from your lender? This is a more complex process, and there is now an AI agent to do this as well.

Build Technologies, a construction technology and real estate finance provider that was valued at $1.5 billion in 2021, is taking its proprietary software to the next level, unveiling an AI agent that has been in the testing phase with a few of its lending clients. Build says it is now ready for the wider market.

“We’re trying to improve this ecosystem up and down the value chain of the construction real estate industry,” said Chase Gilbert, CEO of Build Technologies.

This proxy is implemented specifically for what are known in the business as pull requests. Traditionally, when a developer or construction company completes each stage of the process, they ask their lender for the next stage of financing, i.e. drawdown. This usually takes days or weeks to process, because loan officers must review documents, verify progress, assess risks and approve disbursements. Now the so-called Draw Agent will take over.

“There’s an opportunity to fundamentally serve the ecosystem, and we’ve already designed purpose-built technology to connect key stakeholders, so everyone is looking at the same information at the same time and can request money or make a payment with greater confidence,” Gilbert said.

Over the past decade, Build has worked with lenders, both banks and non-banks, as well as private credit professionals, to help them manage construction projects to optimize capital and get paid faster and more easily than their equity partners.

Clients include U.S. Bank, Citi and Fifth Third. Build also helps make payments to downstream business partners, such as general contractors, subcontractors, architects, attorneys, and designers. This was the original program.

Enter AI, and now Build has created what Gilbert calls an embedded teammate that can do all that work and ensure it’s fully compliant because there’s no margin for human error. Build has been testing the agent with a few of its lenders, including Anchor Loans, over the past three months.

It now advertises 95% faster withdrawal approvals with reviews completed in less than 3 minutes, a 400% increase in risk detection versus human-led reviews, and 100% adherence to each lender’s policies and procedures.

Companies using the new agent have reported returns on investment ranging from 300% to 500%, even on portfolios as small as about 500 loans, according to Build. Companies arrived at this conclusion by comparing the time and operational cost savings resulting from automation against their investments. Lenders in the pilot program said they saw significant reductions in manual workload and increased efficiency without having to hire new people.

The AI ​​agent operates based on trillions of dollars worth of construction drawing data that Build has collected over the past decade, Gilbert said.

“This is where AI really shines,” he said. “It needs a lot of data and context in order to become intelligent and make decisions, and we certainly have a lot of data on that.”