Why $1T Construction still runs on Spreadsheets (And How AI Fixes It) Sneha & Graham, Merlin AI

Can AI Rebuild the $1 Trillion Construction Industry? Construction is one of the largest industries in the world, yet most projects still run on Excel sheets, fragmented tools, and disconnected workflows. Sneha Kumari (Co-founder, Merlin) and Graham Blake (CPO, Merlin) break down why construction has remained one of the least digitized industries and why that is finally starting to change. We explore why traditional ERP systems like NetSuite or Dynamics fail construction companies, how Merlin is rethinking enterprise software for builders, and why AI may finally make it possible to coordinate the massive complexity behind modern construction projects. Sneha also shares her journey from industry operator to first-time founder, how Merlin found early product-market fit, the power of word-of-mouth growth in construction, and what it takes to build a vertical SaaS company in a “non-sexy” but trillion-dollar industry. If you're curious about how AI can transform deep, complex industries this conversation is for you. 00:00 – Trailer 00:40 – Merlin x Neon 02:07 – Software for construction 04:37 – What convinced Graham to join 06:25 – Founder insights that discovered the pain points 08:43 – The team behind Merlin 10:15 – Challenges of building tech in construction 11:51 – Biggest pain points for Merlin’s customers 17:16 – Does ERP need a revolution? 17:55 – Merlin’s end-to-end ERP approach 20:39 – Why customers aren’t happy with existing solutions 24:36 – Why an AI-native approach makes sense 28:23 – What % of construction budget goes to tech 30:37 – How Y Combinator changed a first-time founder 31:50 – The role Neon played in Merlin 33:34 – Current players that excite the founders 36:43 – What it takes for Merlin to reach $10M ARR 39:57 – How to build with zero sales constraints 43:06 – Why become a founder? 45:56 – Build only for an industry you truly understand 47:41 – Why construction over manufacturing 48:38 – When customer called previous software a “black box” ------------- India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it. This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India. What is Neon Fund? We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.

You can listen to Why $1T Construction still runs on Spreadsheets (And How AI Fixes It) Sneha & Graham, Merlin AI online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Why $1T Construction still runs on Spreadsheets (And How AI Fixes It) Sneha & Graham, Merlin AI is an episode from 100x Entrepreneur by Siddhartha Ahluwalia.

This episode is 47:04 long.

This episode was published on Apr 9, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from 100x Entrepreneur when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.