Kestrel Labs

AI-powered building code compliance built natively inside Revit

Kestrel runs jurisdiction-specific building code compliance checks directly inside the Autodesk Revit and Trimble Connect BIM environments, flagging violations against specific model elements and citing the exact code section, so architects catch issues during design rather than at plan review.

$2.15M pre-seed (one source reports $2.2M) led by New Stack Ventures, with FirstMile Ventures, Denver Ventures, and Avesta Fund participating raisedEarly Stage

Founded 2024 · "Several dozen" customers running compliance checks on "hundreds of projects" as of July 2026 (per BusinessDen), concentrated in Colorado with additional presence in Florida, California, New York, and Illinois. Piloting with architecture firms including KAI Enterprises. 9-person team. Note: customer count is above the typical Early Stage threshold, but the company's age (founded late 2024, launched publicly June 2026) and pre-seed-only funding keep it classified Early Stage rather than Growth Stage.

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WHY IT EXISTS

Why This Tool Exists

The Problem

CEO Marian Pulford states architects spend "up to 20% of their time a week" manually cross-referencing drawings against building codes (egress, accessibility, fire/life safety, occupancy, height/area limits, and local amendments). Because this checking happens after the design is largely finished, violations frequently surface only at plan review, forcing rework and delaying permitting.

The Solution

Kestrel embeds a compliance engine, built on a licensed International Code Council (ICC) code dataset, natively inside Revit (and Trimble Connect). One click runs a full jurisdiction-specific compliance check in about 30 seconds, tying each result to the specific model element and citing the exact code section. Kestrel Compliance Chat answers project-specific code questions in plain language with citations, and the web-based Kestrel Portal gives PMs and firm leadership compliance visibility without opening the BIM file.

USAGE

How You Use It

Delivery Method

SaaSPluginWeb App

Integrations

Autodesk Revit (primary integration, available via Autodesk Design & Make Marketplace)Trimble Connect (via Trimble Marketplace)SketchUp (announced as "coming soon," not yet released as of research date)

Disciplines

Architecture

Workflows

Data & Automation

Project Phases

Pre-Design, Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documentation, Construction Administration

Project Types

Not publicly specified - vendor markets to architecture firms generally with no stated restriction to a specific building-type segment; named pilot customer KAI Enterprises is a multi-market (incl. healthcare/institutional) firm

TRANSPARENCY

Data Transparency

Exactly what this tool uses and how

Input

What it needs

Required:Revit BIM model (native project file), Project jurisdiction/location for applicable code lookup

Optional:Trimble Connect-hosted BIM model (for the Trimble integration), Project-specific compliance questions (for Compliance Chat)

Formats:Revit native project files (.rvt), Trimble Connect-hosted BIM models

Output

What you get

Format:In-model compliance flags inside Revit plus a web-based compliance dashboard

Fields:Code violations linked to the specific model element that triggers them, Cited code section for each flagged issue, Plain-language explanations and fix guidance via Compliance Chat, Portfolio-level compliance status (Kestrel Portal)

Algorithm

How it works

Model:Proprietary compliance-checking engine built on a licensed International Code Council (ICC) code dataset, paired with an LLM-based assistant (Kestrel Compliance Chat) for natural-language Q&A; the specific foundation model behind Compliance Chat is not publicly disclosed

Accuracy:No independently published accuracy/precision benchmark. Vendor states coverage of ~80% of municipal code requirements (the rules-based subset) and a ~30-second full compliance check runtime inside Revit; both are vendor-reported, not third-party verified.

Privacy

How your data is protected

Retention:Terms of Service states the company "maintain[s] data for performance management purposes" with no specific retention period or deletion timeline disclosed

Training:Not publicly specified whether customer project data is used to train Kestrel's models; Terms of Service states user feedback "may be used for any purpose without compensation"

Compliance:Terms of Service explicitly disclaims regulated-industry compliance: "the services do not comply with industry-specific regulations including HIPAA and FISMA, and users whose interactions would be subject to such laws may not use the services", No SOC 2, GDPR, or other third-party compliance certification found on public sources

API

Integration

Endpoint:Contact vendor for API access

Method:Not publicly documented

USE CASES

Use Cases

·In-model egress, accessibility (ADA), and fire/life-safety compliance checks during design
·Occupancy classification and height/area limit verification against jurisdiction-specific code before plan review
·Plain-language code Q&A cited to exact code sections via Compliance Chat, reducing reliance on in-house code specialists
·Portfolio-level compliance status visibility for principals/PMs via Kestrel Portal without opening Revit files
·Continuous compliance checking from concept through construction administration to surface violations before they reach plan review

PRICING

Pricing

Free

Free trial for a single project via the Autodesk App Store or Trimble Marketplace

Pro

Annual, firm-wide license (no per-seat fee), unlimited users/projects/compliance checks; price varies by firm size, project mix, and jurisdictional scope (monthly payment option also available; contact vendor for a quote)

Enterprise

Custom pricing for larger firms; charter customers receive preferred pricing and input into future jurisdiction-specific code development (contact [email protected])

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Research Sources & Data QualityLast verified: 2026-07-16

Data Sources (10)

Verified Data (14)

problem, solution, deliveryMethod, integrations, disciplines, projectPhases, yearFounded, fundingTotal, customerBase, pricing-model, privacy-retention, privacy-location, compliance-disclaimer, algorithm-approach

Not Found (6)

pricing-dollar-amounts, api-documentation, soc2-or-third-party-certifications, ai-training-data-use, independently-verified-accuracy-benchmarks, exact-customer-count

Our Commitment: We only include verified data from official sources. If information isn't publicly available, we mark it as "Not publicly specified" rather than guessing.

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