This is the 9th edition of Memoori's bi-annual evaluation of startups and scaleups in the global smart commercial buildings sector. Nine editions in,  the landscape now maps 1,498 technology startups founded since 2014, of which 600 have been acquired and 51 have completed or planned IPOs or SPACs. The full database behind this research spans more than 1,950 companies founded since 2009. It builds on previous research into Grid-Interactive Buildings, HVAC Optimisation, Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Video Surveillance, and Access Control.

2026 on track for a record investment year

Investment has come roaring back. After $5.2 billion in 2023, $7.5 billion in 2024, and $6.5 billion in 2025, the sector raised over $5.6 billion in the first half of 2026 alone, putting it on track for a record year.

AI is now pervasive. Memoori estimates 62% of startups funded in H1 2026 use AI in their solutions, up from 50% in 2025. Investors are no longer asking whether a startup uses AI, but how deeply it is embedded in the product.

Building Energy Management captured 52% of total investment value, over $2.9 billion across 57 rounds, with European startups the biggest beneficiaries as the region presses ahead on decarbonisation and grid-interactive buildings.

Consolidation is accelerating. 46 startup acquisitions completed in H1 2026, four more than the same period last year, taking the total to 600 acquisitions since 2014. Strategic buyers are moving from minority stakes to outright ownership.

For clarification, the Memoori definition of a startup is “a private company formed no earlier than 2014 that is focused on the commercial and industrial buildings market, is not a subsidiary or an acquisition of a larger company, and is generally financed by venture capital or private equity funding.”

The M&A wave rolls on

The standout transaction of H1 2026 was Autodesk’s $3.6 billion acquisition of Maintain X in May, a resounding validation of AI-powered maintenance and operations software. It was far from alone. Motorola Solutions paid $1.5 billion for counter-drone specialist D-Fend Solutions and added conversational-AI firm Hyper, while Johnson Controls acquired Nantum AI and data-centre cooling specialist Alloy Enterprises. In energy, Octopus Energy took a majority stake in Uplight, with Schneider Electric remaining a significant minority partner.

The report analyses all 46 acquisitions across energy management, grid interactivity, workplace management, physical security, and Proptech, and examines what this deal flow tells us about where strategic buyers see value.

Incumbents shaping the startup market

In H1 2026, 23% of strategic investments in startups involved a major smart buildings player, acting as sole investor, funding-round participant, or acquirer. The report maps the venture and M&A strategies of ABB, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Carrier, JLL, and Allegion, with deal-by-deal timelines of their startup investments and acquisitions from 2022 through June 2026.

Significant expansion of Part 2

Following its introduction in January, Part 2 of this research has expanded significantly. We have now categorised 137 startups applying digital twin and AI technologies across architecture, engineering, pre-construction, construction, and building operations. 54 of them newly added since January 2026. Of the total, 103 startups apply AI across the AEC/O lifecycle, and 34 apply digital twin technology to the built environment.

Pre-construction was the busiest funding stage of the lifecycle with 19 rounds in H1 2026, ahead of construction (15) and design & engineering (11). Established AEC software players — Nemetschek, Autodesk, Procore, and Trimble — are accelerating their startup bets, with Procore acquiring Datagrid and Trimble acquiring Document Crunch to bolster their AI capabilities.

This edition adds 10 new in-depth startup profiles, covering offering, strategic focus, funding history, headcount growth, and market positioning, on top of the 20 profiles in our January 2026 report.

32 startups gaining traction

As part of this research, Memoori also identified 32 startups gaining market traction in H1 2026 across the four cohorts of the industry: IoT platforms, building energy management, Proptech, and physical security. Selection was based on organic and acquired growth, new business models and innovative technologies, and headcount growth. The startups losing traction, companies reducing headcount or winding down have also been covered within the report.