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§ Private Profile · London, England, United Kingdom
AI platform transforming sketches, 2D drawings, and text into photorealistic building visualizations for architects and designers.
Based in London, Gendo is an artificial intelligence platform that transforms initial sketches, two-dimensional drawings, and text descriptions into high-quality, photorealistic architectural visualizations. The browser-based software operates on a subscription model and serves a rapidly expanding global user base of over 90,000 professional architects and designers. To date, more than 3,500 active users have utilized the dedicated system to generate over 50,000 images across 5,000 distinct building projects. The venture-backed technology company has successfully raised £5.2 million in total equity funding, including a recent seed round co-led by investment firms PT1 and LEA Partners. Gendo provides customized workflows and enterprise licensing to prominent architectural firms, counting industry leaders Zaha Hadid Architects, KPF, and David Chipperfield Architects among its notable early adopters. The software company was founded in 2022 by George Proud and Will Jones.
Gendo has raised $6.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Gendo has raised $6.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Gendo has raised $6.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Gendo's investors include LEA Partners, PropTech1 Ventures, Concept Ventures, Obvious Ventures, Soma Capital, Jeremy Yap, 01 Ventures, Blossom Capital, Dan Ellis, Mik Attisani.
Gendo has raised $6.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Seed in November 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2024 | $5M Seed | LEA Partners, PropTech1 Ventures | Concept Ventures, Obvious Ventures, Soma Capital, Jeremy YAP | Announced |
| Jul 1, 2024 | $1M Seed | — | 01 Ventures, Blossom Capital, Concept Ventures, Soma Capital, DAN Ellis, MIK Attisani | Announced |
Gendo is a UK-based AI startup founded by architects, developing a browser-based platform that generates photorealistic architectural visualizations from sketches, CAD files, BIM models, 2D drawings, or photos in minutes rather than days.[1][2][3][4] It serves architects and designers at firms like Zaha Hadid Architects, KPF, David Chipperfield Architects, and Benoy, solving the high cost, time-intensive process of CGI production that often requires outsourcing or specialized skills, enabling in-house creation to accelerate design iteration and focus on creativity.[1][2][3][4] Launched from beta in early July 2024, Gendo achieved over 1,000 user sign-ups in its first week, raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding, and is expanding as an AI copilot for architecture with "architecture-aware" AI for precise material edits, style transfers, and text-to-image generation.[2][3]
Gendo Technology Ltd was incorporated on December 7, 2022, in London, with founders George Proud, an architectural designer, and Will Jones, a software engineer.[3][5] Proud and Jones, drawing from architecture backgrounds, identified the pain of slow, expensive rendering that diverts architects from design work—often taking 4-5 days per image and requiring outsourcing.[3][4] The idea emerged to harness generative AI tailored for architectural precision, unlike general tools, leading to a beta tested by top firms like Zaha Hadid Architects and others, which validated the product before its v1 public release in early July 2024.[2][3] Early traction included partnerships with these practices and $1.1 million pre-seed funding from London VCs Concept Ventures, Ascension Ventures, and investor Franquibel Lima.[3]
Gendo rides the generative AI wave in architecture, where traditional rendering bottlenecks hinder creativity amid rising demand for quick visualizations in competitive bids and client pitches.[1][2][3][4] Timing aligns with AI maturation for domain-specific tasks post-2023 diffusion models, enabling "architecture-aware" tools that outperform generic ones like Midjourney in precision.[1][3] Market forces favor it: AEC industry's shift to digital twins/BIM, cost pressures on firms, and smaller studios' need for affordability, amplified by post-pandemic remote design trends.[1][2] Gendo influences the ecosystem by empowering in-house production, fostering innovation at scale—early adoption by global leaders signals potential to standardize AI in workflows, much like CAD did decades ago.[2][3]
Gendo is poised to evolve from CGI specialist to full AI copilot, with new architect-tailored features, custom models, and London team scaling in the next 18 months.[2] Trends like multimodal AI and AEC digitization will propel growth, potentially capturing share in a $10B+ visualization market as firms prioritize speed. Its influence may expand via integrations with BIM tools, solidifying early-mover status among top practices and challenging outsourced services. This architect-led disruptor returns visualization power to designers, fueling the next era of efficient, creative architecture.