Forma Systems

PUBLIC

Name	Forma Systems
Tagline	Generative design software reducing cost and carbon in concrete construction
Headquarters	Blackpool, UK
Founded	2023 [PitchBook, 2025]
Stage	Pre-Seed
Business Model	SaaS
Industry	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology	AI / Machine Learning
Geography	Western Europe
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Solo Founder

Links

PUBLIC

• Website: https://www.forma-systems.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/forma-systems

Executive Summary

PUBLIC

Forma Systems is an early-stage UK startup applying generative design to concrete construction, a bet that merits attention for its direct address of a high-emissions, capital-intensive industry with a software wedge. The company, founded in 2023 by Sandy Kurt, develops FormaOpt, a tool that integrates engineering equations with fabrication constraints to optimize structural designs for lower weight and embodied carbon in seconds rather than weeks [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, 2025]. The founding story appears rooted in academic and competition-driven innovation, with the company having won MIT's Climate and Energy Prize and an Innovate Mass award, though the specific founding impetus is not detailed in public sources [Demo Day 2025 video, 2025]. The team includes individuals with structural engineering and business development backgrounds, as indicated by LinkedIn profiles, but a comprehensive leadership profile is not yet publicly established [LinkedIn, 2026]. No funding rounds, investors, or detailed business model are publicly disclosed, placing the company in a pre-seed, capital-seeking phase. Over the next 12-18 months, the key watchpoints will be the validation of its initial customer traction claim, the disclosure of a formal funding round to scale operations, and the publication of third-party case studies to substantiate its reported 31% carbon reduction on a specific floor slab component [High-Profile Monthly, 2026].

Data Accuracy: ORANGE -- Key claims are sourced from company presentations and a single trade publication; funding and team details are unverified.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Classification
Stage	Pre-Seed
Business Model	SaaS
Industry / Vertical	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology Type	AI / Machine Learning
Geography	Western Europe
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Solo Founder

Company Overview

PUBLIC

Forma Systems was founded in 2023, according to PitchBook data, with its legal entity registered in the United Kingdom in October 2024 [PitchBook, 2025] [forma-systems.com]. The company is headquartered in Blackpool, UK, and operates as a design and technology studio focused on sustainable construction [Crunchbase] [forma-systems.com].

Its early development has been marked by recognition from academic and state innovation programs. The company won MIT's Climate and Energy Prize, an award for student-led climatetech ventures, and later received an Innovate Mass award, which provides grants for deploying clean energy technologies [Demo Day 2025 video, 2025].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Founding year and entity registration are corroborated by PitchBook and the company website. Award claims are sourced from a company presentation; independent verification is not available.

Product and Technology

MIXED

Forma Systems's product is a generative design tool that seeks to apply computational optimization to the physical world of concrete. The company's FormaOpt software is positioned to reduce the time required for structural engineering from days or weeks to seconds, according to a company presentation [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, 2025]. The core technical claim is the integration of validated engineering equations with geometry-based fabrication constraints, suggesting a focus on manufacturability rather than purely theoretical shape generation.

The primary application demonstrated to date is the optimization of prestressed concrete floor slabs. In a published case study, Forma Systems collaborated with precast manufacturer J.P. Carrara to develop a shape-optimized slab. The resulting design is reported to have saved 33% in weight and 31% in embodied carbon when benchmarked against a standard 8-inch hollowcore plank [High-Profile Monthly, 2026]. This single data point provides a concrete, if early, signal of the product's potential impact on material efficiency and decarbonization. The company has also stated it has secured a first paying customer, though the identity and scope of that engagement are not public [Demo Day 2025 video, 2025].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product claims are based on a mix of company presentation material and one third-party trade publication case study. The core technical integration and performance claims lack independent technical validation.

Market Research

PUBLIC

The global push to decarbonize heavy industry, particularly construction, creates a specific and urgent need for tools that can materially reduce the embodied carbon of building materials without compromising structural integrity or economic viability.

Forma Systems positions its opportunity within the broader concrete construction market. The company's own presentation material cites a total addressable market of $200 billion [Demo Day 2025 video, 2025]. This figure is not broken down or corroborated by third-party research in the available sources. For context, the global precast concrete market, a more direct analog for the company's initial focus on structural systems like floor slabs, was valued at approximately $96.5 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to $138.7 billion by 2030, according to a Grand View Research report [Grand View Research, 2023]. The $200 billion claim likely encompasses the total value of concrete used in structural applications worldwide.

Demand is driven by two converging forces. First, regulatory and client pressure to reduce embodied carbon in buildings is intensifying, with new building codes and corporate net-zero commitments creating a compliance and competitive imperative for construction firms. Second, the persistent volatility in material and energy costs makes any technology that promises significant material savings, and therefore cost savings, inherently attractive. Forma Systems' stated wedge, "for the material required to make one building, we can make two," directly addresses both drivers [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, 2025].

Key adjacent markets include the broader architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) software space, dominated by large incumbents like Autodesk, and the emerging field of construction technology focused on sustainability and digital twins. Substitute approaches to reducing concrete's carbon footprint include alternative low-carbon cement chemistries, the use of supplementary cementitious materials like fly ash, and carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies applied at cement plants. Forma's software-based optimization is a complementary, rather than competing, pathway that can be layered on top of these material innovations.

Global Precast Concrete Market (2022) | 96.5 | $B
Projected Market (2030) | 138.7 | $B
Company-Cited TAM | 200 | $B

The available sizing data shows a substantial market, though the company's top-line TAM claim remains unverified. The growth trajectory of the precast segment provides a credible, if conservative, floor for the opportunity, while the software's value proposition aligns with powerful, sustained macro trends in the industry.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Company-cited TAM is unverified; analogous market size from Grand View Research provides a benchmark.

Competitive Landscape

MIXED

Forma Systems enters a market where the primary competition is not from other startups, but from the inertia of established design practices and the limited scope of existing software tools.

No named direct competitors were identified in the available public sources. The competitive analysis, therefore, focuses on the broader ecosystem of alternatives and substitutes that a construction manufacturer might consider when seeking to optimize concrete designs.

The competitive map is segmented into three categories. First, incumbent design software like Autodesk Revit and Tekla Structures are the default tools for structural modeling and detailing. These are comprehensive platforms but are not purpose-built for generative optimization of material use and carbon; they serve as the baseline workflow FormaOpt aims to augment, not replace. Second, specialized structural analysis software such as SAP2000 or ETABS perform rigorous engineering calculations but lack integrated generative algorithms and fabrication-aware constraints. Third, a growing category of sustainability-focused design tools exists, including whole-building life cycle assessment (LCA) platforms like One Click LCA or Tally. These tools excel at measuring embodied carbon after a design is complete but do not actively generate lower-carbon structural shapes during the design phase. Forma Systems’ wedge is positioned between analysis and fabrication, aiming to influence the geometry itself before it reaches the detailing stage.

Where the subject has a defensible edge today rests on its specific integration of engineering validation with manufacturable constraints. The case study cited with J.P. Carrara, showing a 33% weight and 31% carbon reduction for a prestressed slab, suggests the software can produce solutions that are both structurally sound and feasible for precast production [High-Profile Monthly, 2026]. This focus on the precast concrete segment,a high-value, repeatable manufacturing process,could provide an initial beachhead. The edge is perishable, however, as it relies on continued validation with industry partners and the accumulation of proprietary datasets linking optimized shapes to real-world cost and performance. Without rapid adoption, the underlying algorithms could be replicated by larger incumbents or open-source projects.

The company is most exposed on two fronts. The first is distribution and sales. Autodesk and other incumbents have entrenched relationships with engineering firms and construction companies through enterprise sales teams and reseller networks. Forma Systems, as a solo-founded pre-seed entity, lacks this channel power and must rely on direct, founder-led sales to early adopters. The second exposure is category expansion. While focused on concrete floor systems, the broader generative design for construction space is attracting attention. If a well-funded competitor emerges targeting the same precast concrete niche with a similar value proposition but superior integration into existing CAD/BIM workflows, Forma’s early-mover advantage could be quickly eroded.

The most plausible 18-month competitive scenario hinges on Forma’s ability to convert its first paying customer into a referenceable case study and secure a seed round to build a commercial team. A winner in this scenario would be a specialist fabricator like J.P. Carrara, which could gain a cost and sustainability advantage over rivals by locking in an exclusive or early partnership. A loser would be traditional engineering consultancies that rely on manual, iterative design methods; if manufacturers begin to demand optimized designs as a condition of bids, these consultancies could be disintermediated or forced to license the software themselves. The landscape will likely remain fragmented, with Forma competing against workflow inertia more than against any single named software vendor.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive analysis is inferred from product claims and market context; no direct competitor profiles are publicly cited.

Opportunity

PUBLIC If Forma Systems can successfully embed its generative design software into the workflows of major concrete manufacturers, the prize is a significant share of the $200 billion market for the materials required to make a building [Demo Day 2025 video, 2025].

The headline opportunity is to become the de facto standard for design-to-fabrication optimization in the precast concrete industry. This outcome is reachable because the company's initial proof point directly targets the industry's core economic and regulatory pressures. A documented case study with J.P. Carrara, a precast concrete manufacturer, shows a 33% weight reduction and a 31% reduction in embodied carbon for a prestressed floor slab compared to a standard design [High-Profile Monthly, 2026]. For an industry facing tightening carbon regulations and volatile material costs, these are not aspirational features but immediate, quantifiable savings. By integrating validated engineering equations with fabrication constraints, FormaOpt positions itself not as a speculative AI tool but as a direct contributor to the bottom line and sustainability mandates of its target customers.

Growth from a single case study to industry-wide adoption could follow several plausible paths. The scenarios below outline specific, concrete routes to scale.

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst	Why it's plausible
Standardization Partner	FormaOpt becomes referenced in industry design guides (e.g., PCI Handbook) as a preferred optimization method.	A major industry association, like the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI), endorses the software after a multi-manufacturer pilot.	The company has already demonstrated collaboration with a manufacturer to benchmark against a PCI standard, providing a ready-made validation story [High-Profile Monthly, 2026].
Platform for Carbon Accounting	The software evolves into a mandatory tool for ESG reporting and securing green building certifications.	A major developer or government body mandates digital carbon tracking for all structural components.	Forma Systems' core value proposition is explicitly tied to reducing embodied carbon, aligning directly with the construction industry's growing compliance burden [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, 2025].

Compounding success in this market would likely manifest as a data and workflow moat. Each new design optimized and fabricated creates a proprietary dataset of validated, manufacturable geometries. This repository of proven solutions would accelerate optimization for similar future projects, creating a performance gap between FormaOpt and generic generative design tools. Furthermore, integration into a manufacturer's digital design and production workflow creates significant switching costs. The flywheel begins with a single, high-profile project win that serves as a reference for adjacent manufacturers and product types, gradually building a library of solutions that becomes increasingly difficult for new entrants to replicate without similar field validation.

To size the potential win, consider that the global market for architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) software is projected to reach $18.5 billion by 2028, with design and modeling tools representing a core segment [MarketsandMarkets, 2023]. A specialized vertical software leader capturing a dominant share of the concrete optimization niche could command a valuation multiple similar to other high-margin, mission-critical SaaS businesses in adjacent fields. If the "Standardization Partner" scenario plays out and Forma Systems captures a low-single-digit percentage of its cited $200 billion material market opportunity through software fees, the resulting revenue scale would support a venture-scale outcome (scenario, not a forecast).

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- The core product claim and a key case study are cited in a trade publication, but the large market opportunity figure is self-reported and unverified by third-party research.

Sources

PUBLIC

1. [PitchBook, 2025] Forma Systems 2025 Company Profile: Valuation, Funding & Investors | https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/601793-92

2. [forma-systems.com] Forma Systems | https://www.forma-systems.com

3. [Crunchbase] Forma Systems - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/forma-systems

4. [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, 2025] Forma Systems: Research Brief | https://www.perplexity.ai/

5. [Demo Day 2025 video, 2025] Forma Systems Demo Day 2025 video | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...

6. [LinkedIn, 2026] LinkedIn profiles of Kiley Feickert, Aateeb A Khan, and Sandy Curth | https://www.linkedin.com/company/forma-systems

7. [High-Profile Monthly, 2026] Shape Optimization Is Ready for the Precast Production Line | https://www.high-profile.com/shape-optimization-is-ready-for-the-precast-production-line/

8. [Grand View Research, 2023] Precast Concrete Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report | https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/precast-concrete-market

9. [MarketsandMarkets, 2023] AEC Software Market by Component, Deployment Mode, Application, End User and Region - Global Forecast to 2028 | https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/aec-software-market-227269748.html