Adaptis’ proprietary, AI-driven software enables circularity in construction
Velocity startup secures foundation with $2M pre-seed round
Within a year since launching, Adaptis has raised $2 million from investors in Canada and the U.S. who specialize in cleantech, deeptech and renewable energy.
The company’s proprietary, artificial intelligence-driven software, born out of University of Waterloo research, enables circularity in construction, decarbonizing and material recycling for existing and new multi-family housing, commercial and institutional buildings.
Through years of research and collaboration, co-founders Sheida Shahi (pictured below) and Aida Mollaei (pictured left) knew their tech had the potential for commercialization, and being backed by the University and Velocity helped their first fundraising round.
Because of the University’s creator-owned IP policy, meaning that the rights are owned by the researchers, the co-founders did not have to worry about constraining research and development, Shahi says.
Adaptis's patent is a big part of its scalability but the unique IP policy at the University isn’t immediately obvious to foreign investors, she adds.
“In the U.S., not everyone understands [the IP policy] because they are just not used to seeing it. The value of being a University of Waterloo startup and being part of Velocity is having that channel between investors — Velocity was a big help in communicating what the University stands for.” - Sheida Shahi, CEO and co-founder of Adaptis.
