Why 8.3 Million Construction Workers Had No Good Software & How AI Could Finally Fix It | MerlinAI
Can AI Rebuild the $1 Trillion Construction Industry?Construction is one of the largest industries in the world, yet most projects still run on Excel sheets, fragmented tools, and disconnected workflows.
Sneha Kumari (Co-founder, Merlin) and Graham Blake (CPO, Merlin) break down why construction has remained one of the least digitized industries and why that is finally starting to change.
We explore why traditional ERP systems like NetSuite or Dynamics fail construction companies, how Merlin is rethinking enterprise software for builders, and why AI may finally make it possible to coordinate the massive complexity behind modern construction projects.
Sneha also shares her journey from industry operator to first-time founder, how Merlin found early product-market fit, the power of word-of-mouth growth in construction, and what it takes to build a vertical SaaS company in a “non-sexy” but trillion-dollar industry.
If you're curious about how AI can transform deep, complex industries this conversation is for you.
00:00 – Trailer
00:40 – Merlin x Neon
02:07 – Software for construction
04:37 – What convinced Graham to join
06:25 – Founder insights that discovered the pain points
08:43 – The team behind Merlin
10:15 – Challenges of building tech in construction
11:51 – Biggest pain points for Merlin’s customers
17:16 – Does ERP need a revolution?
17:55 – Merlin’s end-to-end ERP approach
20:39 – Why customers aren’t happy with existing solutions
24:36 – Why an AI-native approach makes sense
28:23 – What % of construction budget goes to tech
30:37 – How Y Combinator changed a first-time founder
31:50 – The role Neon played in Merlin
33:34 – Current players that excite the founders
36:43 – What it takes for Merlin to reach $10M ARR
37:40 – How to build with zero sales constraints
40:25 – Why become a founder?
43:00 – Build only for an industry you truly understand
45:00 – Why construction over manufacturing
46:00 – When customer called previous software a “black box”
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