Miami construction startup Togal.AI won a $420,000 investment after taking home first prize at the 2022 eMerge Americas Startup Showcase.
The company, which uses artificial intelligence to automate construction estimates, was among five finalists to pitch their businesses at Tuesday's live event at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The competitors were chosen from thousands of applicants to take the stage and sell their concepts to a panel of judges that included "Shark Tank" personality Kevin O'Leary; Florida Funders Chief Investment Officer Ryan Whittlemore; Panoramic Ventures Managing Partner Paul Judge; and The Algorand Foundation CEO Staci Warden.
“Getting validation from a 'Shark Tank' judge is not only cool, but a sign that Togal.AI is worth investing in,” said Togal.AI CEO Patrick Murphy.
Murphy founded the startup in 2019 with seed funding from Coastal Construction, the Miami firm founded by his father, Thomas P. Murphy. Togal.AI uses machine learning to automatically calculate the square footage of a construction job, label rooms and walls, and update blueprints. Much of that work is usually done manually in the industry, a process that can take weeks. With Togal.AI, those measurements and can be completed in seconds.
“The construction industry is ripe for innovation," said Murphy, a former U.S. Congressman who represented Florida's 18th congressional district from 2013 to 2017.
The other four finalists in the competition were Movia Robotics, a United Kingdom-based robotics company that builds software to help children on the autism spectrum; Genially, a Spanish firm that helps users build interactive digital content; TicketRev, a Boca Raton marketplace that makes it easier to buy and resell live event tickets; and Cera, a public safety startup headquartered in Broward County.
Togal.AI officially launched September after months of beta testing by two dozen general contractors and trade partners. Headquartered in Blue Lagoon, the company has more than 20 full-time employees.
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