Denver, Colorado, September 25, 2025
News Summary
Denver-based LightTable closed a $6 million seed round to scale its AI-driven plan review platform that ingests PDFs of drawings and specifications and returns prioritized issue lists in 10–45 minutes. The startup doubled its team, plans further hiring, and reports its software currently catches 60–65% of errors with a roadmap to reach about 90% next year. LightTable has analyzed millions of square feet across dozens of projects and charges per square foot. Separately in Colorado, grocery workers ended a multi-store strike after a tentative agreement on 45 contract provisions covering wages, benefits and pension protections.
Startup funding and a major grocery strike pause after tentative deal
Top lines
A Denver startup focused on automating construction plan review closed a new financing round and is expanding its team, while a multiweek strike at dozens of Colorado grocery stores ended after a tentative contract covering 45 key provisions was reached. The two developments have direct implications for construction workflows and labor stability in the state.
LightTable raises $6 million to automate construction‑plan peer review
LightTable closed a $6 million seed round to further build artificial intelligence tools that review construction plans. The company was founded in 2024 and is based in Denver with an office in the Venture X space in LoDo. The founding team includes a chief executive who leads the business, a chief technology officer, and a head of growth who previously worked as an architect at a major global firm and pioneered the idea at an incubator connected to an investor network.
The round was led by the venture firm that connected the founders, with participation from other early-stage investors and institutional contributors. The company previously raised $2.2 million in a pre-seed round. LightTable doubled its team from five people to 10 after the raise, with about half the staff made up of AI and software engineers. The company expects to add another five people to its office in the next four to six months and plans to use the funding to invest in product engineering and to hire experienced construction experts, architects, engineers and general contractors.
LightTable accepts PDFs of design documents, drawings and specifications uploaded by users. Developers upload their site plans (PDFs of design documents, drawings and specifications) and LightTable’s AI agent reviews them. The AI review currently takes between about 10 and 45 minutes to read through a couple thousand pages of specifications; company leadership says the system can do it in 30 minutes. The software performs a full coordination of constructability, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering, accessibility, and fire and life safety during its review.
LightTable’s software currently catches between 60% and 65% of all errors. The company projects the system will catch around 90% of errors a year from now. For comparison, the company estimates that widely available chatbots might catch up to 15% of problems and that current human peer review catches around 50% of problems. The company says limitations of current peer review are due to the massive nature of construction documents, which can run thousands of pages with hundreds of drawings.
The startup has analyzed 2.5 million square feet across 50 projects so far, including apartment buildings and retail, and expects to reach about 10 million square feet by the end of the year while adding hospitals, data centers and labs to its project types. LightTable is working with two of the biggest multifamily developers in the country and has signed a pilot agreement with a Florida‑based national developer. A vice president of construction at that developer said LightTable caught mistakes in seconds that outside experts spent weeks trying to find.
The product uses available large language models and computer vision models with a proprietary code base on top. It was developed with guidance from architects, engineers and general contractors. The AI engineers work closely with architects and structural engineers to customize the tool. The company claims the AI identifies four times more issues than traditional peer reviews and reduces coordination mistakes on job sites by up to 70%.
Customers pay a price per square foot on each project. When a developer buys LightTable for a project, everyone else on the project team gets access for that project at no additional cost. Company leadership estimates that 5% to 7% of the total cost of development goes to fixing errors made in plans, and says improved error finding and coordination can lead to fewer delays and fewer change orders.
Colorado grocery strike ends after tentative agreement
Workers at dozens of Colorado Safeway and Albertsons locations ended their strike on a Saturday after the union announced a tentative agreement covering 45 key contract provisions. The provisions include higher wages, improved dental and vision benefits, a fully funded pension, and protections against union work going to gig companies such as DoorDash. The union described the tentative contract as all gains, no concessions.
The tentative contract is still subject to a ratification vote by union members, and ratification meetings are being scheduled. The union called for all members on strike to return to work by Monday. The strike began on June 15 at stores in three Front Range cities and at the company’s Denver distribution center, and it expanded in the following weeks to 48 of the 80 Safeway locations in Colorado. Negotiations had been ongoing for nine months prior to the strike. Company representatives said they are pleased to have reached a fair and equitable agreement that will benefit associates and allow continued service to customers.
Why these stories matter
The construction software news points to accelerating use of AI to reduce time-consuming manual checks and to lower error-driven costs in building projects. The labor news affects staffing and service continuity at dozens of stores and distribution operations across Colorado, and it could influence labor talks in similar grocery operations elsewhere.
What to watch next
- Whether LightTable reaches its projection of analyzing about 10 million square feet by year-end and expands into hospitals, data centers and labs.
- How quickly LightTable’s projected improvement in error capture materializes and how widely developers adopt the tool.
- Completion of ratification votes and whether the tentative contract is approved by union members in Colorado.
FAQ
Q: What funding did the company raise?
A: LightTable closed a $6 million seed round.
Q: When and where was the company founded?
A: LightTable was founded in 2024 and is based in Denver.
Q: How long does the AI review take?
A: LightTable’s AI review currently takes between about 10 and 45 minutes.
Q: What file formats does the product accept?
A: LightTable accepts PDFs of design documents, drawings and specifications uploaded by users.
Q: How many errors does the software catch today?
A: LightTable’s software currently catches between 60% and 65% of all errors.
Q: How much area has the company analyzed so far?
A: LightTable has analyzed 2.5 million square feet across 50 projects so far.
Q: What contract provisions were included in the tentative grocery agreement?
A: The 45 key contract provisions include higher wages, improved dental and vision benefits, a fully funded pension, and protection against union work going to gig companies such as DoorDash.
Q: How did the union characterize the tentative contract?
A: The union described the tentative contract as all gains, no concessions.
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Key features at a glance
| Topic | Key features |
|---|---|
| Company | LightTable — Denver-based, founded in 2024, office in Venture X LoDo |
| Funding | Closed $6 million seed round; previously raised $2.2 million pre-seed |
| Product | Accepts PDFs of design documents, drawings and specifications; AI review between about 10 and 45 minutes |
| Performance | Currently catches between 60% and 65% of all errors; projects ~90% in a year |
| Scale | Analyzed 2.5 million square feet across 50 projects so far; target ~10 million square feet by year-end |
| Customers | Primarily developers; pricing per square foot; pilot signed with a major national multifamily developer |
| Labor update | UFCW Local 7 tentative agreement covering 45 key contract provisions; union described the tentative contract as all gains, no concessions |
Deeper Dive: News & Info About This Topic
Additional Resources
- The Denver Post: LightTable closed a $6 million seed round
- Wikipedia: Construction technology
- Commercial Observer: LightTable seed round
- Google Search: LightTable seed funding
- The Denver Post: Safeway/Albertsons strike ends with tentative contract
- Wikipedia: United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)
- The Denver Post: Denver trash and compost collection furloughs
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Waste management
- The Denver Post: JCPenney, Macy’s leaving Northfield Shops
- Google News: Northfield Shops Denver JCPenney Macys
Author: Construction TX News
TEXAS STAFF WRITER The TEXAS STAFF WRITER represents the experienced team at constructiontxnews.com, your go-to source for actionable local news and information in Texas and beyond. Specializing in "news you can use," we cover essential topics like product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news affecting the area—with deep expertise drawn from years of dedicated reporting and strong community input, including local press releases and business updates. We deliver top reporting on high-value events such as the Texas Construction Expo, major infrastructure unveilings, and advancements in construction technology showcases. Our coverage extends to key organizations like the Associated General Contractors of Texas and the Texas Building Branch, plus leading businesses in construction and real estate that power the local economy such as Austin Commercial and CMiC Global. As part of the broader network, including constructioncanews.com, constructionnynews.com, and constructionflnews.com, we provide comprehensive, credible insights into the dynamic construction landscape across multiple states.
