Benetics: The Venture Leader Technology empowering construction professionals

16.03.2026 10:00, Rita Longobardi

Meet Ferdinand Metzler, founder of Benetics. The ICT startup develops software that simplifies processes, enhances efficiency, and promotes collaboration among construction professionals, ultimately driving success in their projects and businesses. Ferdinand and the other nine Swiss National Technology Team members will fly to Silicon Valley in April.

Name: Ferdinand Metzler
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Nationality: Austria
Graduated from: ETH Zurich
Prior role: CEO and Founder of Fision Technologies (acquired by Zalando)
Founding team members: Dr. Aaron Shon, Johan Tibell
Number of employees: 17
Money raised: CHF 2M
 
What does your product or solution do, and what makes it unique?
Benetics is building the AI-powered operating layer for construction sites. Our voice interface gives frontline workers a single entry point to everything they need on site, documentation, task management, time tracking, plans, photos, and connected ERP systems. Instead of navigating fragmented apps and paperwork, workers interact naturally. Traditional construction software optimizes back-office workflows. We optimize execution on-site like no one else.

What trend or shift in your industry is currently creating the biggest opportunity for you?
Construction faces a structural productivity crisis combined with severe labor shortages. Despite billions invested in construction software, most tools were built for administrative workflows, not for execution on site. AI enables a new generation of interfaces that adapt to workers rather than forcing them to adapt to software. This shift creates the opportunity to redesign how construction work is coordinated at its core.

How did the idea for your startup originate?
While working as an electrician, I experienced firsthand how disconnected digital tools were from the reality of construction sites. We discovered that pen-and-paper workflows were often 3-5 times faster than even the most streamlined digital alternatives. That insight was decisive: the industry did not lack digitization, it lacked software built for the worker. We committed to solving that structural mismatch.

Which market are you addressing, and what potential do you see for your startup in that market?
We started in Switzerland, a high-trust, high-complexity construction market, and are expanding into neighboring European countries and the US. Construction is one of the largest and least digitized industries globally. Execution on site remains structurally underserved, representing a significant opportunity for AI-native infrastructure.

What impact do you want your technology to have five years from now?
Our ambition is to fundamentally improve how construction work is coordinated and documented. In selected workflows, we already see efficiency gains of 10x or more compared to traditional processes. These are not isolated improvements, but proof of a systematic efficiency lever created by redesigning the interface between worker and system. Over time, our operating layer evolves into an intelligence system that captures, structures, and redistributes data and practical knowledge across projects, compounding productivity without compromising craftsmanship.

What major challenges have you faced so far?
Trust. Construction is built on relationships and proven reliability. Trust is earned on-site, not in presentations. Adoption required deep immersion, constant iteration, and building alongside workers rather than for them. This operational proximity has become one of our core advantages.

What motivates you on tough days?
We are building infrastructure for one of the most overlooked workforces in the global economy. Enduring companies are built through consistency and long-term commitment, especially when progress is not linear. That is what motivates me on tough days.

Why did you decide to join the Venture Leaders Roadshow, and what are you most excited about?
As we prepare for international scale, understanding how leading global investors evaluate AI-native vertical infrastructure companies is critical for us. I am particularly interested in how U.S. investors assess category-defining platforms in traditional industries, and in exchanging perspectives with founders building globally from Switzerland.