Alkali is an online PDF markup platform that uses computer‑vision to automatically detect structural steel elements and calculate material weights with built‑in AISC tables. It generates stock‑aware nesting plans, exports data to Excel, Tekla EST, or annotated PDFs, and supports real‑time multi‑user collaboration with an AI chat assistant for on‑the‑fly queries.
Funding
$500K raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Structural steel fabricators and estimators spend extensive time manually extracting quantities from large PDF bid sets, leading to slow bid preparation, higher labor costs, and increased risk of errors.
Solution
Alkali provides an online PDF markup platform that uses in‑house computer‑vision algorithms to automatically detect and annotate structural steel elements such as beams, columns, joists, braces, and base plates. The tool calculates material weights using the AISC Steel Construction Manual, generates stock‑aware nesting plans, and exports results to Excel, Tekla EST, or annotated PDFs. An integrated AI chat assistant lets users query drawings, locate details, and verify annotations in real time. Live collaboration features enable multiple team members to work on the same estimate simultaneously, with changes tracked instantly. The system continuously improves its detection accuracy as more projects are processed, helping shops accelerate takeoffs and reduce material waste.
Target Audience
Alkali is aimed at structural steel fabricators, estimating teams, and engineering firms that need fast, accurate takeoffs from complex construction drawing PDFs.
Features
- Automated detection of beams, columns, joists, braces, and base plates via advanced computer‑vision models
- Built‑in AISC weight tables for instant tonnage calculation and material costing
- Export options to Excel, Tekla EST format, and annotated PDFs for seamless integration with existing workflows
- AI‑driven chat interface for image‑based queries, detail extraction, and on‑the‑fly clarification of drawing callouts
- Real‑time multi‑user collaboration with live cursors and shared markup tables
- Stock‑aware nesting plan generation to minimize material drop and waste
- Customizable material catalog with 1,000+ standard steel profiles and user‑defined properties