Shackleton AI, a startup developing AI-powered technology for the construction industry, has emerged from stealth with a $5 million seed funding round led by Battery Ventures. The company plans to use the funding to expand its AI agents’ capabilities and accelerate its go-to-market strategy.
Other investors participating in the round include Brick & Mortar Ventures, Trust Ventures, Correlation Ventures, Motivate Partners, Thayer Investment Partners, Act One Ventures, Brainstorm Ventures, Silence VC and others.
Launched in June 2026, Shackleton AI says its platform already manages more than $1 billion in project value across over 15 U.S. states. Its customers include midsize general contractors working in multifamily, industrial and commercial construction, as well as multi-location brands such as Red Lobster, Dog Haus and Pepper Lunch.
AI Platform for Construction Project Management
Shackleton AI combines development and construction management workflows into one platform, from site selection and bidding all the way to project turnover.
Construction teams often rely on multiple disconnected systems for bidding, documents, scheduling and financial management. This can lead to significant administrative work, with project teams spending 10 to 15 hours each week on data entry and related tasks.
Shackleton’s AI agents are designed to automate many of these activities. The platform can draft requests for information (RFIs), follow up on overdue submittals, flag budget variances before payment requests are submitted for approval and turn field notes into daily reports.
Unlike tools that automate tasks within a single application, Shackleton’s agents work across the platform to help teams coordinate work across projects and portfolios. Critical decisions require human review and approval workflows.
Founders With Construction Industry Experience
Shackleton AI was founded by Michael Ragheb, Hassan Yasin and Olexandr Kaltsev. The founders previously built Ernest, a technology-enabled commercial general contractor that reached $35 million in revenue across the Southeastern United States.
Their experience managing construction operations exposed them to the challenges of fragmented software systems and administrative workloads.
Headquartered in New York, Shackleton AI is developing what it describes as an agentic operating system for construction and development. Its platform combines preconstruction, project and field management, finance and communications in one system.
Funding to Expand AI Capabilities
Shackleton AI will use the $5 million seed investment to expand the workflows its AI agents can manage and support customer acquisition.
The company aims to bring more proactive AI assistance to construction project delivery, helping teams identify risks, coordinate activities and reduce administrative work across the construction lifecycle.
With more than $1 billion in project value already managed on its platform, Shackleton AI is positioning its technology to support construction companies seeking more connected and automated operations.
