Ryan O'Connor

Venture Capital @ Suffolk Technologies | BOOST Program

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

Strongly agree. AI makes execution cheaper. Accountability is what becomes more valuable.

We see this in construction: selling the finished job is going to win. The nuance: software margins are earned by making expert judgement repeatable. Someone does still have to stand behind the work and liability.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

@MovingAtomsLab @MovingAtomsLab let’s connect you with our design team

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

@Jason @Mack_Rush @ParkerMundt

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

Construction software is often designed for the people tracking the work. But the biggest surface area is the people doing it.

A field tool has to fit the crew’s sequence, attention, connectivity and handoffs. If using it means stopping the task to feed the system, adoption gets expensive very quickly.

Maybe one of the most under built categories in construction tech is still the interface between software and physical work.

Smart safety glasses 📈

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

@Mack_Rush @resetbasis @ParkerMundt And people wonder why proptech market is weak

[Mack Rush @Mack_Rush]

@Jason @Jason check out Suffolk Technologies BOOST program! Would love you to take a look at the founders focused on changing the built environment alongside America’s Contractor @SuffolkBuilds https://t.co/YS5nYoraWT

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

I keep coming back to how many expensive decisions in real estate come down to someone saying “oh, now I see it”.

Visualization technology with AR/VR is getting so good.

Think about how much changes when you can see it before it’s built, and make those decisions months earlier..

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

3/ The market then grows because the service becomes cheaper or more accessible.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

1/ Construction has an “uncertainty premium”.

Contractors price in unknown conditions.

The biggest opportunity for #construction #robotics is starting competing businesses that eliminate that premium.

Take on the risk, and sell a better outcome.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

2/ The business becomes venture-backable when the technology (robots) produces measurable nonlinearity.

Faster crew replication.
Higher output per worker.
Superior and more predictable margins.
Data that improves future performance.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

6/ What breaks this thesis?

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

1/ America will not grow out of its debt spiral if it cannot build.

The debt debate focuses on taxes and spending. It pays far less attention to the physical constraint on growth: delivering power, data centers, factories, housing and transportation.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

5/ Construction technology will not solve the debt spiral by itself.

But America cannot outgrow that problem unless it can build faster.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

4/ This turns construction productivity into a macroeconomic issue.

AI, robotics, computer vision and integrated delivery can help the same workforce build more - and bring new capacity online sooner.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

3/ But growth now has a physical bottleneck.

If projects run late and over budget, capital sits idle, financing costs compound and the productive asset arrives too slowly.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

2/ CBO projects debt rising from 101% of GDP in 2026 to 120% in 2036.

When debt-service costs rise faster than the economy supporting them, the fiscal math compounds.

A durable answer requires more real output.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

Capital alone won’t rebuild America - labor will.

The Alliance for America’s Skilled Trades (@Google, @BlackRock, @Ford, @Carhartt) and @jpmorgan’s $1.5T Security & Resiliency Initiative prove that capital and intent are already committed.

But every clean energy grid, chip fab, and mission-critical site carries the same underwriting risk:

Who is actually going to build it?

@FraserPatterson and @SkillitUSA make a counterintuitive point: this isn't just a labor shortage. It’s an infrastructure failure.

Construction's labor deficit is only ~5%... smaller than logistics or healthcare. Yet it causes exponentially more disruption. Why?

Because for 30 years, construction focused on digitizing drawings, schedules, and procurement- leaving craft labor hiring on pen, paper, and fragmented phone trees.

Reindustrialization won't happen until we treat the workforce access as critical infrastructure.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

Is the GC the Primary Care Physician (and the ACO)?

For decades, healthcare ran on “Fee-for-Service.” Doctors were paid for volume - every test, every MRI, every visit. Construction has operated the exact same way.

“Value-Based-Care” is when both are paid for the outcome.

[Ryan O'Connor @ryanocc]

The HVAC industry loses money at two critical moments: installation and failure.

Nearly 1 in 4 installs requires a callback due to improper installs, and reactive emergency repairs cost 3-5x more than proactive maintenance.

@Thalolabs tackles both.