René Morkos, founder and CEO of ALICE Technologies, a platform considered the world's first AI-powered optimisation platform for the construction industry, is no stranger to Artificial Intelligence (AI), ConTech or PropTech. He highly values the benefits of his company's new alliance with McKinsey & Company, announced in April.
A Stanford-educated engineer with a doctorate in AI for construction, Morkos is also a lecturer at his alma mater. Prior to founding ALICE, he spent over a decade managing construction projects in more than 20 countries. These ranged from infrastructure rebuilding in Afghanistan to automating a $350 million refinery expansion in Abu Dhabi. These experiences revealed a fundamental flaw in the industry: rigid, reactive, and uncertain project controls.
Under Morkos' leadership, ALICE (the name is an acronym for ArtificiaL Intelligence Construction Engineering) has focused on AI in project planning and scheduling. The technology has been used on global construction projects worth over $115 billion, simulating millions of schedule scenarios, compensating for delays and optimising outcomes. In June, Morkos discussed ALICE's alliance with McKinsey, its significance for both companies and the construction industry in general.
The recently agreed alliance between ALICE Technologies and McKinsey & Company is remarkable, as McKinsey typically does not publicly announce such partnerships. Morkos explains that the collaboration is based on complementary capabilities, aimed at advancing the mission of generative scheduling and construction. The collaboration began over four years ago and gradually intensified, with both parties building trust in each other's strengths. McKinsey, as one of the world's leading consulting firms, and ALICE, as one of the top construction technology companies, complement each other perfectly in this regard.
Morkos cites two key differences from other ConTech or PropTech companies: the focus on scheduling and, in particular, generative scheduling, also known as operational optimisation planning. This involves fundamentally simulating a construction project entirely within a computer. To achieve this, ALICE had to develop a virtual representation of the construction world in the computer. This included teaching the computer what construction means, how cranes, personnel, equipment, materials, and resources function and behave. This approach is unique and technically extremely demanding, as it requires complete data integration – an "all-or-nothing problem".
ALICE's technology is the result of intensive research at Stanford University's Construction Management Department over several decades. Existing research findings have been consolidated and further developed. The alliance with McKinsey aims to facilitate the implementation of these advanced software solutions in companies. While ALICE provides the technology, McKinsey supports clients with change management, analysing results, and integrating AI capabilities across the entire organisation. This enables companies to leverage the efficiency of Artificial Intelligence across multiple projects and create a culture where AI-driven questions are posed to solve problems.
- —ALICE Technologies focuses on generative scheduling for simulating construction projects.
- —The technology has been used in construction projects worth over $115 billion.
- —The alliance with McKinsey & Company aims to facilitate the implementation of AI solutions.
