Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Eyes: Oculai is an AI-supported solution for automated progress and process recording on construction sites in civil engineering and structural engineering. Using cameras, usually mounted on the crane tower, and artificial intelligence, we capture daily manual activities, including location and number of people, from a bird's eye view. This data allows us to record progress in a target/actual schedule, evaluate workflow productivity, and automate documentation tasks. This saves projects 15 percent in construction management costs and shortens project durations by 10 to 25 percent.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Eyes: There are some webcam providers that offer some useful AI features, such as counting trucks or alerting when safety zones are violated. However, there is no solution capable of automatically recording work processes, let alone progress against a given schedule. 360° scanning of interior spaces covers other phases of the value chain.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Eyes: The idea was born when our co-founder Constantin was researching "Human Action Recognition with AI" at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Through contacts in the construction industry, the idea of using this technology for construction process analysis arose. Shortly thereafter, Tim, Yannik, and Constantin met through various entrepreneurship programs. After the company was founded in 2021, the MVP, the first paying customer, and the hiring of additional team members followed within a few months. The first major VC financing round followed in 2023.
Challenge: The project business of the construction industry
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Eyes: The project business of the construction industry. Many of our clients don't even know when a construction project will start and to what extent. This initially made it difficult to develop a scalable business model with predictable revenues. We tried a lot of different things and found a model that works – but the topic remains challenging.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Eyes: In one year, we will be launching additional products and further expanding our international presence. In five years, crane cameras with OculaiTechnology is standard equipment on civil and engineering construction sites in Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Our vision is to massively increase industry productivity through centralized monitoring of construction processes.
Access to talent in Munich easier
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Eyes: We moved the company from Nuremberg to Munich because access to talent is much easier there. There's a strong awareness of startups as career boosters, whereas in other cities, corporate companies are more attractive. We clearly feel the difference.
Munich Startup: Hidden champion or shooting star?
Eyes: More of a hidden champion. We have a small marketing budget and focus on growth, business model, and product. We don't need to be the loudest AI startup—we want to be the most effective.
