Consigli and the Global Market for Artificial Intelligence in Construction Engineering in 2025

Founded in Norway in 2020 by CEO Janne Aas-Jakobsen, Consigli uses artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate early-stage mechanical and electric design of buildings, enabling real estate developers and general contractors to reduce their environmental footprint and construction expenses, and maximizing the usable space available for construction. By 2024 Consigli was breaking even and had expanded to the UK, but competition was heating up and AI had become more accessible with the growing number of LLMs. The case study discusses the founding, strategic choices, and evolution of Consigli, the market for AI in construction engineering, and key strategic issues in 2025.

Sustainability initiatives often fall prey to investor pressure if they threaten to undermine competitiveness or performance, yet demands for sustainability can also create business opportunities – as illustrated in the construction industry by Consigli. By deploying AI, the start-up could reduce the material cost of real estate projects while boosting profits and achieving a significant drop in the carbon embedded in construction, setting in train a major disruption of the established order in Norway’s ultra-conservative industry and supply chain.
The case allows students to:
1) visualize and size the business sustainability opportunity;
2) understand the need for and challenges of disruption;
3) discuss various disruption options and strategies; and
4) identify a growth strategy to reach critical mass in a nascent market that offers global opportunities.