Eric Wu, who built and led Opendoor before departing in 2022, has returned to entrepreneurship with NavigateAI, a startup building AI copilots for construction workers and other field labourers. Wu says he is convinced AI will define his generation's technology, and sees an opportunity in the construction industry's persistent labour shortage, which is being worsened by an ageing workforce, tighter US immigration enforcement, and a surge in major projects such as AI data centres. The company aims to act as a hands-free "expert coach" that helps workers on site, addressing a staffing gap that gets far less attention than the capital and energy demands of such projects.

NavigateAI emerged from stealth in late May with $25 million in seed funding at a $225 million post-money valuation, led by investor Elad Gil and backed by Khosla Ventures, Fifth Wall, Lennar, Tishman Speyer and Helix Electric, alongside angels including Tony Xu, Apoorva Mehta and Brian Armstrong. The trade body Associated Builders and Contractors estimates the US needs roughly 349,000 extra construction workers this year, while data centre projects now require 4,000–5,000 workers each, up from about 750 previously, with staffing named by 90% of operators as a critical constraint. Wu's product works via smartphone or, hands-free, through Meta's AI glasses, letting a worker point a camera at their work and ask questions in plain language.