DALLAS, Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TestFit Inc., the world’s first powerful building configuration software leveraging practical generative design, announced today it has secured $2 million in seed funding from Parkway Venture Capital LLC. Experts in rapid real estate prototyping, architectural site analysis, and feasibility studies simulation and automation, the Dallas-based startup plans to expand its multifamily housing customer base into architectural, real estate developer and general contractor markets with an ultra-efficient solution, eliminating the need for any knowledge of generative design programming.

Spearheading the seed round is patent-holding AI evangelist Jesse Coors-Blankenship, who refined his industrial engineering chops at Autodesk, and later at his own generative design startup Frustum, which was acquired by industrial innovation leader PTC for $70 million in 2018. As a Managing Partner at Parkway Venture Capital, Jesse is focused on supporting industry disruptors such as TestFit in pursuit of a greater adoption of AI-enabled technologies to help make a better and more sustainable built environment.

“What is remarkable about TestFit is that architects who need to visualize ideas or real estate developers looking to come up with effortless building configurations can simply download the app and aided by AI technology, create stunning, yet realistic, multifamily prototypes instantaneously,” comments Coors-Blankenship. “This level of customization, speed, responsiveness and automation makes generative design easily accessible to better facilitate the construction of more affordable, sustainable residential real estate that meets modern needs. Our backing gives TestFit the opportunity to further invest in its technology and to make TestFit the industry standard in generative design software as a service for architecture.”

The generative design market size is expected to grow from $111 million in 2018 to $275 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 19.9% during the forecast period. Factors such as rising need for advanced design software to drive product innovation, growing demand for environment-friendly architecture, and enhanced production efficiency are expected to drive the market during the forecast period ( source).

Embracing a data-driven approach to smart urban planning, TestFit aims to remove barriers in the adoption of generative design in order to expedite and exceed market expectations. To date, TestFit’s technology has been used in the completion of thousands of feasibility studies, with an estimate of saving a total of $20M in opportunity cost.

Cuningham’s Principal and Chief Technology Officer Adam Wilbrecht, AIA, and a TestFit customer, comments, “We have come to the limit of the traditional designer’s toolkit. Intuition and experience can no longer be the basis of architectural design. Today, relevant design requires insights and analytics fueled by data. TestFit is a prime example of the next generation of tools shaping the built world.”

TestFit’s proprietary AI-powered algorithm and intuitive workflow enable architects, real estate developers and general contractors to start utilizing practical generative design immediately. Upon installing the app, site reliability and feasibility planners can run simulations, using a wide assortment of parameters, ensuring maximum control and customization over the site planning and design. Easily swapping building types, generating schemes, and diving into multisite urban planning, TestFit enables rapid visualization of pre-construction planning. With a single click, architects can swap unit styles, move generated amenities into specific locations, and create customized parking facilities. Designs can be beautified by adding shadows and highlights, or by using manual mode for greater interactive customization. Once a design is complete, exporting data in multiple supported formats and closing deals is a snap.

Taking the concept of co-creation into a practical reality, TestFit’s robust software automatically handles mundane details such as life safety compliance or quantity takeoffs, freeing up designers to focus on solving more meaningful problems, ensuring a project’s viability for all stakeholders.

“We’ve been around since 2017, providing our customers with automated, easy-to-use tools for their architectural feasibility studies. This new funding will help us scale to meet increasing demand for accessible generative design, and continue innovating to lead the industry,” comments Clifton Harness, co-founder and CEO of TestFit. “With the financial backing and support of someone like Jesse Coors-Blankenship, who is a generative design visionary and an industry veteran, we expect to build an even more powerful technology engine to enable companies in the building space to turn out meaningful designs in a fast and efficient manner. With these resources we will be able to expand our offering beyond just the housing market and start facilitating other building types such as hotels, office centers and even self-storage facilities.”

About TestFit Inc.
TestFit Inc. provides a radically new approach to solving site feasibility studies. Harnessing the concept of co-creation, TestFit combines user knowledge with the power of proprietary AI algorithms into the first multifamily prototyping solution using generative design that produces results in seconds. Architects, real estate developers and general contractors rely on TestFit to bring their designs to life in a manner more efficient, sustainable and imaginative than ever before.

About Parkway Venture Capital LLC
Parkway Venture Capital is a boutique VC firm working from New York and Boston. Founded in 2018 by General Partners Gregg Hill and Jesse Coors-Blankenship, Parkway’s Fund 1 is focused on supporting early stage ventures in SaaS, Sustainability, AI, Proptech, Engineering, Industry 4.0 and Medtech, based on the experience and expertise the partners have accumulated over the years innovating in the technology space.