SINGAPORE — April 29, 2026 — UntroD Capital Asia is proud to announce its investment in the US$3.98 million oversubscribed pre-seed funding round for FORMAS.AI. Led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, this round signals a major turning point for an industry that has seen little fundamental workflow change since the introduction of AutoCAD in 1982.

While Japan is globally renowned for its architectural precision and craftsmanship, the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) industry is facing an unprecedented productivity crisis. Despite the high standards of Japanese design, the sector remains one of the least digitized, with architects still losing thousands of hours on manual drafting and toggling between a patchwork of disconnected software tools. 

In the Japanese market, where “perfection is the baseline,” the lack of integrated digital workflows creates a massive bottleneck. Firms are struggling to maintain their legendary attention to detail while facing increasing pressure to reduce manual labor hours. This has created an urgent demand for a new category of technology: a platform that doesn’t just “sketch,” but understands the spatial logic and precision required by professional Japanese studios.

Carlos Bañón (Co-founder & CDPO): A global pioneer in architectural intelligence and a Singapore President’s Design Award laureate. He brings the “0 to 1” innovation and academic rigour required to solve AI precision.

Yiping Goh (Co-founder & CEO): A serial entrepreneur and former Partner at McKinsey & Company with “1 to 100” scaling experience. Her background in building massive digital marketplaces ensures the platform is built for global market dominance.

UntroD’s investment is rooted in solving the fundamental Control Challenge of Generative AI. Most current AI tools are “black boxes” that produce beautiful but unbuildable illustrations. FORMAS.AI solves this through a proprietary Orchestration Layer that controls over 60 specialist AI models to ensure:

• Precision & Feasibility: Eliminating “hallucinations” to ensure designs respect architectural constraints.
• Workflow Integration: Replacing the manual “grunt work” of switching between tools with a single, intuitive workspace.
• Preservation of Intent: Allowing architects to convert a rough sketch into a high-fidelity 3D model in minutes, without losing the original vision.

“Formas.ai transforms the architect from a manual drafter into a creative orchestrator,” said Henry Tao, Director at UntroD Capital. “We invested because this platform allows architects to be released from repetitive technical tasks and return to their core role: making high-level creative and strategic judgments. This isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about giving designers a faster way to bring their best ideas to life while scaling their impact far beyond traditional limits.”

Since its public beta launch in November 2025, FORMAS.AI has seen explosive organic growth, with over 500,000 designs generated by 6,000 designers across 135 countries in just five months.
The newly raised capital will be deployed across three strategic phases, beginning with the short-term goal of strengthening the orchestration layer to bridge the existing gap between initial sketching and technical 3D modeling. This will transition into a mid-term expansion of go-to-market efforts across the United States, Europe, and Japan, where UntroD Capital will play a pivotal role in facilitating market entry to help local firms meet the urgent demand for automated design workflows. Ultimately, the long-term vision is to establish FORMAS.AI as the definitive global operating system for the architectural design era, serving as the integrated platform for the next generation of creative professionals.

FORMAS.AI is the AI-native creative and design workspace for architecture, engineering, and construction. The company was co-founded by Yiping Goh, a seasoned founder-operator, exited entrepreneur, and former Partner at McKinsey & Company, and Professor Carlos Bañón, a globally recognised architect, a leading voice in AI and design, Singapore President’s Design Award & International Awards laureate, and pioneer in architectural intelligence. Headquartered in Singapore with expansion plans in the US, Europe & Japan, FORMAS.AI serves a fast-growing global community of architects, interior designers, product designers, and real estate teams. The company launched its public beta in November 2025 and is building in public.

Website: https://www.formas.ai

UntroD Capital Asia is a leading deep-tech VC firm dedicated to fostering impactful technologies that drive sustainable growth. As the manager of the Real Tech Global Funds, UntroD Capital Asia partners with innovative startups and businesses addressing global challenges in sectors such as energy transition, sustainable agri-food, and industrial manufacturing. UntroD’s hands-on approach and industry network provide portfolio companies with the resources and expertise needed to scale their operations and achieve lasting impact.