Large language models (LLMs) trained on general domain corpora showed remarkable results on natural language processing (NLP) tasks. However, previous research demonstrated LLMs trained using domain-focused corpora perform better on specialized tasks. Inspired by this pivotal insight, we developed INDUS, a comprehensive suite of LLMs tailored for the Earth science, biology, physics, heliophysics, planetary sciences and astrophysics domains and trained using curated scientific corpora drawn from diverse data sources. The suite of models include: (1) an encoder model trained using domain-specific vocabulary and corpora to address natural language understanding tasks, (2) a contrastive-learning-based general text embedding model trained using a diverse set of datasets drawn from multiple sources to address information retrieval tasks and (3) smaller versions of these models created using knowledge distillation techniques to address applications which have latency or resource constraints. We also created three new scientific benchmark datasets namely, CLIMATE-CHANGE-NER (entity-recognition), NASA-QA (extractive QA) and NASA-IR (IR) to accelerate research in these multi-disciplinary fields. Finally, we show that our models outperform both general-purpose encoders (RoBERTa) and existing domain-specific encoders (SciBERT) on these new tasks as well as existing benchmark tasks in the domains of interest.

WIRE)--Procore Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of construction management software, today announced it has acquired INDUS.AI, makers of an artificial intelligence-powered analytics platform for the construction industry. This acquisition adds computer vision capabilities to the Procore platform, helping owners, general contractors, and specialty contractors realize greater efficiencies, safety, and profitability. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. The construction industry is undergoing a digital transformation. While this transformation is producing mountains of previously inaccessible data, up to 96% of construction data goes unused.

Procore Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of construction management software, today announced it has acquired INDUS.AI, makers of an artificial intelligence-powered analytics platform for the construction industry. This acquisition adds computer vision capabilities to the Procore platform, helping owners, general contractors, and specialty contractors realize greater efficiencies, safety, and profitability. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. This press release features multimedia. This acquisition adds computer vision capabilities to the Procore platform, helping owners, general contractors, and specialty contractors realize greater efficiencies, safety, and profitability.

Indus.ai today closed an $8 million series A round for its construction project computer vision solution, which delivers real-time insights to project managers. The startup uses images and video footage from nearly 100 million square feet of construction sites to train an AI system that helps builders monitor the pace of progress on construction projects, ensure safety compliance, and reduce inefficiencies. The new funding will be used for product development and to growth the company's marketing and sales teams. "We call ourselves Indus because it's industrial AI and we see a huge opportunity in continuing to push forward on safety and productivity for industrial spaces," Indus.ai CEO Matt Man told VentureBeat in a phone interview.

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–INDUS.AI, a construction software company using computer vision to track and analyze construction project performance in real-time, announced today that it has received an $8 million Series A investment led by Millennium New Horizons with additional participation from strategic investors Foundamental and Groundbreak Ventures. Previous investors Spero Ventures, UP2398, and Bootstrap Labs also joined the round. The new funding will be used to accelerate product development and expand sales, marketing and customer success services. "The construction industry has been a neglected space for too long. This country expends extraordinary energy and capital to build amazing things – tunnels, train stations, skyscrapers and stadiums. But the sad truth is that the vast majority of those projects are painfully over-budget and delayed," said Matt Man, CEO and co-founder.

Want to get a jump-start on upcoming deals? If a lack of innovation is to blame for stagnating U.S. construction productivity over the last half-century, off-site builders -- and some of their AI partners -- think they may have the solution. Around the country, prefabrication companies of different scopes and specializations are trying to boost their factory environments by using artificial intelligence. Off-site construction firms promise both time and cost savings, with one June report by McKinsey predicting up to 50% quicker builds compared to on-site construction. Cost savings from off-site construction, on the other hand, only now appear to be materializing for builders, in part because of the use of AI.