Product Bobyard Pushed Its AI Past the Takeoff Into the Submittal — the Document That Arrives After the Bid Is Won On 29 October the San Francisco company said a bid can now run from drawings to priced estimate, branded proposal and submittal package inside one product. The release puts the takeoff saving at an average of 65% and bids per estimator at three to five times. The submittal feature itself shipped four weeks earlier. Hugo Pegley · Oct 30, 2026
Funding UpSmith Raised $10M After Moving From the Labour Shortage to the Unsold Estimate A Series A led by SemperVirens, reported 6 October, for a Dallas company founded in 2022 that was selling a gamified technician-productivity app against a skilled-trades shortage as recently as 2024, and now sells revenue recovery against a contractor's own customer database. Roughly fifteen people, 200-plus operators, and $18.3M in disclosed rounds. Hugo Pegley · Oct 13, 2026
Funding Probook Raises $40M from a16z and Sequoia to Build the Trades' AI Operating System Around Dispatch The home-services startup — serving HVAC, plumbing and electrical shops — raised a $6M seed led by Sequoia and a $34M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, a rare co-sign from two firms that seldom share a cap table. Founded by a 24-year-old who grew up pressure-washing houses, Probook is betting the trades' back office consolidates into one platform built around the dispatch board. Hugo Pegley · Jun 23, 2026
