CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA — PataBid has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding to advance its AI-powered construction estimating software and expand its reach among specialty trade contractors across North America.

Led by Graphite Ventures, the funding round included participation from Sprout Fund, Bluesky Equities, Inverted Ventures and previous angel investors. PataBid plans to use the funding to deepen AI product development, expand supplier partnerships and distribution channels, and accelerate commercialization.

Founded by Melvin Newman, who brings more than 15 years of construction estimating experience and full-stack development expertise to the company, PataBid develops technology for the preconstruction process. Its team draws on decades of trade and estimating experience to address challenges in specialty trade estimating.

"PataBid has built something contractors genuinely need," said Adrian Mitchell, Principal at Graphite Ventures. "Melvin and his team bring decades of industry knowledge to estimating, one of construction's most outdated processes. It's a pain contractors feel on every bid. PataBid is proving there's a better way, and building the next generation of AI-powered software to deliver it."

Quantify Automates Takeoffs and Integrates Supplier Pricing

Contractors in complex specialty trades such as electrical, plumbing and fire protection continue to rely heavily on manual estimating methods and legacy software. PataBid estimates that more than 463,000 contractors in these trades operate across North America.

Each project begins with an estimate that requires accurately quantifying materials and developing project pricing. Yet many contractors still use spreadsheets, pen and paper, or legacy desktop software that is being phased out.

Drawing on Newman's experience as a construction estimator, PataBid developed Quantify, a cloud-native, AI-powered estimating platform designed to turn construction drawings into priced estimates in hours rather than days.

The platform uses symbol recognition and natural language processing to automate takeoffs. Direct supplier integrations populate real-time pricing, and contractors can order materials through the same tool. Quantify supports residential, commercial, industrial and institutional projects, with functionality designed for contractors ranging from small businesses to enterprise-sized firms.

More Than 200 Contractors Use the Platform

More than 200 contractors in the electrical, mechanical and fire protection trades currently use Quantify. The platform has processed more than $2 billion in bid value to date.

PataBid is building on that platform with Newton, a conversational AI estimating agent in beta with a select group of customers. Planned for commercial launch in 2027, Newton is being developed to let estimators query complex drawings and specifications in natural language, identify potential project risks before bidding, and run “what-if” scenarios involving material and labor changes.

The tool is intended to give estimators another way to examine project information and evaluate how changes could affect a bid before submitting a price.

Newton Development Targets Estimating Risk

"We see PataBid's future in revolutionizing how the industry estimates complex plumbing and electrical work," said Melvin Newman. "By integrating cutting-edge tooling directly into the estimator's process, we're helping contractors move faster and take on less risk with every bid. We are building the software that will define preconstruction for the future."

PataBid Quantify is available to electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fire protection contractors across Canada and the United States. Contractors can book a demonstration at patabid.com.