[AI Revolution](191) Pobicon: "Innovating Construction with AI... Advancing Beyond Estimation to a Comprehensive Platform"

Calculating Material Quantities from CAD Drawings with AI
General Contractors Show Interest, Expanding Collaboration

Sung Joongseok, CEO of Pobicon, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily. Photo by Dongjoo Yoon

"For AI majors, the construction industry is typically seen as a 3D sector—dirty, dangerous, and difficult—so it's not a preferred field. But once I actually got involved, I realized there are countless ways to improve efficiency with AI technology."

Song Joongseok, CEO of Pobicon, recently spoke with The Asia Business Daily at the Startup Zone in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, expressing his ambition to "accelerate the AI transformation (AX) of the construction industry with software power." Pobicon is an AI construction startup founded in 2024. The company offers an 'Auto Quantity Takeoff' solution that analyzes computer-aided design (CAD) blueprints using vision AI to automatically calculate quantities of raw materials and costs.

A chance question from a family member who runs a construction company became the catalyst for his entrepreneurial journey. Song recalled, "My father-in-law, knowing my background as a developer, once asked me if, since AI is such a hot topic, it would be possible to use AI to analyze architectural blueprints and determine the number of bricks just by looking at the drawings. He hinted that, if possible, it could be a great business item with tremendous impact in the construction industry."

With his naturally curious personality, and having previously served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Interminds and Samatdi, Song immediately secured access to blueprints his father-in-law had accumulated over 30 years. He developed a prototype and got to work. "In the conservative construction industry, the field of quantity takeoff for determining the number of bricks has seen no progress for the past 20 years and still relies on manual work," he explained. "From that point, I began to seriously analyze the market and monitor competitors, and I determined there was a strong chance of success."

Sung Joongseok, CEO of Pobicon, is giving an interview with The Asia Business Daily. Photo by Dongju Yoon

Song emphasized, "With Auto Quantity Takeoff, the time required to calculate the frame material quantities for a 500-unit apartment building is dramatically reduced from the conventional four weeks to just one day. Tasks that would take several people ten hours to do manually can be shortened to about 20 minutes through automation, enabling significant savings in labor and other costs." The reason solutions in this field have been slow to emerge is that extracting raw data by analyzing CAD drawings with DWG extensions is technically challenging. Pobicon has now developed specialized technology and holds related patents.

Pobicon has collaborated with major general contractors such as POSCO E&C, BS Hanyang, Woomi Construction, and Hoban Construction to validate its Auto Quantity Takeoff solution, demonstrating its technological prowess by achieving up to 99% accuracy. At the end of last year, the company secured Pre-A investments from Xplow Investment and Magellan Technology Investment, and is now preparing for a technology-based IPO.

"While we are currently focused on the quantity takeoff sector, the ultimate goal is to calculate construction costs with precision," Song said. "With automation powered by AI, construction companies can directly manage job sites and reduce unnecessary expenses." He added, "We will actively pursue overseas expansion, starting with Japan, which has a construction system similar to Korea’s, and moving on to the United States and Singapore. Our vision is to grow into a full life-cycle construction data platform that covers everything from construction to operations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.