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A New Chapter: WND Ventures Unveils Evolved Approach to Construction Innovation
A New Chapter: WND Ventures Unveils Evolved Approach to Construction Innovation
4 minute read
WND Ventures evolves to better support the kind of solutions that solve persistent challenges in construction—from labor shortages to complex coordination and productivity gaps.
4 minute read
This article is included in the Great Things: Issue 13 edition of the DPR Newsletter.
WND Ventures, DPR’s innovation and investment arm, has entered a new era. After years of investing in and incubating startups, DPR has evolved WND to better support the kind of solutions that solve persistent challenges in construction—from labor shortages to complex coordination and productivity gaps.
This new direction was outlined at the BuiltWorlds Venture West conference in San Francisco. There, DPR Leadership Team members George Pfeffer and Atul Khanzode described a shift from traditional corporate venture capital to a more integrated and entrepreneurial model that pairs investment with deep operational collaboration to accelerate innovation and bring new solutions to market faster.
"This isn’t just about funding. We’re building long-term relationships with entrepreneurs, other general contractors, trade partners, technology companies and venture capitalists to solve real problems, together."
Atul Khanzhode, DPR Construction
Since 2015, WND Ventures has backed more than 15 startups, helping bring new tools and technologies directly to jobsites to address manual and repetitive tasks in smarter ways. Layout automation, digital inspections, AI-powered planning and robotics solutions have streamlined time-consuming processes, allowing teams to focus on higher-value work.
Startups like Dusty Robotics, ConstructivIQ and Rhumbix have played a key role in shifting how DPR—and the industry at large—delivers projects.
“We’re not trying to change everything at once,” said Pfeffer. “We’re looking at the real friction points in construction and asking: How do we remove some of the burden from our teams, and do it in a way that sticks?”
In addition to participating in two sessions at the BuiltWorlds conference, including a panel with DPR’s Kaushal Diwan on “HardTech and the Future of Construction,” DPR hosted industry leaders at its San Francisco office for a panel discussion and networking. The session, co-moderated with Alice Leung of Brick + Mortar Ventures, brought together founders, partners and DPR team members to explore new ways of working together to develop practical solutions for the industry.
That same week, Khanzode and Diwan, who leads strategic investments and partnerships for WND, co-hosted a dinner with current and prospective strategic partners, where Eric Lamb, one of DPR and WND's Board Members, shared lessons learned from investing in innovation over the last 10 years. The participants then discussed how the community can come together to collaborate, invest and advance the industry through shared innovation.
“Startups need more than capital—they need access to real data, real problems and people who are working in the field,” said Diwan. “With WND, we help them get closer to the real problems through field testing and data sharing, so they can build purpose-built, targeted solutions that actually work on jobsites.”
Q&A: What This Means for DPR and the Industry With George Pfeffer and Atul Khanzode, DPR Leadership Team
Why relaunch WND Ventures now?
Khanzode: The timing was right. We were seeing real momentum in areas like AI and robotics, and we had reached a point where many tools were mature enough to test at scale. At the same time, the industry has continued to face pressure, including labor availability, rising complexity and a demand for more predictable outcomes. We saw an opportunity to address those challenges head-on.
Pfeffer: This wasn’t a reaction. It was a move forward from a place of strength. We’ve been learning and investing for years. Now we’re applying those lessons in a more structured and sustained way.
What’s different about this next phase of WND?
Khanzode: We’re combining and integrating what used to be fragmented. Our project teams, R&D group and venture investments are now part of one innovation model. When startups work with us, they collaborate directly with builders, VDC specialists and engineers. That’s how ideas become viable products.
Pfeffer: The other big difference is time. Innovation doesn’t happen on a quarterly cycle. It takes long-term effort. WND is designed to create the space and structure for that work to succeed.
How does this impact DPR’s project teams?
Khanzode: It puts them closer to the innovation process. Our builders are helping shape and pilot new tools early. That ensures we’re supporting solutions that truly improve the way we work. Internally, we’re also advancing AI adoption by mapping use cases across functions and building the support to scale.
Pfeffer: If it doesn’t make the work better for teams in the field, it’s not the right fit. That’s the lens we’re using. We ask whether a solution improves safety, quality or schedule without adding complexity.
What does success look like five to ten years from now?
Pfeffer: Let’s remember, the definition of innovation is determined by whether the client sees it as value. We can talk about everything we think is innovative, but at the end of the day, somebody else has to be willing to pay for it. That means we can’t just have an idea. We have to operationalize it, build it into the process, and prove it in the field.
Khanzode: That mindset helps us stay focused. We’d love to see a handful of WND-supported companies become industry standards. But it’s also about changing how innovation happens. We want to make it more collaborative, less siloed, and tied to actual project delivery.
Who are the right partners for this next phase?
Khanzode: Our best partnerships are the ones where the builder and the innovator sit down together from the start. With WND, we bring projects, expertise and support. The right partners bring purpose and grit. When that clicks, we build something that lasts.
Pfeffer: We want partners who share our drive to move the industry forward. It’s not just about DPR—it’s about lifting the whole industry. That takes sleeves-rolled-up collaboration to solve complex problems, cut the noise and unlock what’s next. Together, we can make a seismic shift in how construction works.
Posted on June 20, 2025
Last Updated June 26, 2025
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