With a commitment to modernizing the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector, Amar Hanspal, Autodesk’s former co-CEO and chief product officer, secured $46 million for his latest venture, Motif. This innovative company aims to offer the AEC industry a futuristic design platform for buildings instead of traditional tools.
Hanspal boasts an extensive background in AEC technology, having held a profound professional journey at Autodesk for about 20 years. Despite the significant funding for Bright Machines, a manufacturing automation company he co-founded, the seasoned technocrat left to rejuvenate his career. His insights into the AEC marketplace highlighted the architects’ growing impatience with the existing tools, which are predominantly non-cloud-based and take up an unreasonable amount of time for minimal edits.
In 2023, alongside Brian Matthews, Autodesk’s former product CTO, the duo devoted their expertise to steering Motif. Although its debut product won’t hit the market until later this year, Hanspal hinted that Motif’s platform aspires to deliver cloud-native 3D design tools enriched with machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Motif’s startup capital of $46 million is a blend of seed and Series A funding, spearheaded by Capital G (Alphabet’s growth fund) and Redpoint Ventures, respectively.
Jill Chase, Capital G partner, acknowledged the outdated software used in architecture. Her meetings with Hanspal and Matthews confirmed the potential of their combined expertise of 40 years to disrupt the AEC software market.
Comparing Motif’s effort with design company Figma, Hanspal justified the delaying of the product’s release. For him, creating a revolutionary design platform calls for substantial work.
Closing on a triumphant note, Hanspal pledged his confidence in Motif prevailing in the competitive market against startup rivals such as Snaptrude and Arcol.
Original source: Read the full article on TechCrunch
