Glodon QuantifAI launch pushes Malaysian quantity takeoff into AI judgment work

Glodon put its AI-powered quantity takeoff tool QuantifAI in front of nearly 1,000 Malaysian construction professionals on 14 August 2026 at the KLGCC Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur. The launch sat at the centre of AEC Connect Day 2026 under the banner Double Intelligence with AI × 5D BIM, and it arrived with a new English white paper plus fresh university agreements.

The immediate product news is straightforward. The second-order effect runs deeper: the tool is built to pull quantity surveyors and estimators out of repetitive measurement work so they can spend more time on analysis, risk and cost certainty while Glodon deepens a ten-year foothold in a market still uneven on BIM.

Nearly 1,000 people packed the Kuala Lumpur launch

Glodon used the afternoon at KLGCC to stage the Malaysian debut of QuantifAI alongside government, association and contractor voices. Attendees came from the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Finance, Public Works Department (JKR), JKR Sarawak, CIDB Malaysia, CIDB Digital, RISM, MBAM, CIOB Malaysia, the Malaysia BIM Association and the Bumiputera Contractors Association, plus Chinese trade promotion officials and academic partners.

A panel titled Reimagining Quantity Takeoff: From Traditional BIM to AI-Powered 5D framed the discussion. The company also ran a Legacy Alliance Recognition Ceremony that named 31 long-term benchmark partners. MoU and MoA signings with Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT) and Taylor’s University closed the formal programme.

• Event scale: nearly 1,000 representatives from public agencies, developers, consultants, contractors and academia
• Core product: QuantifAI, described as next-generation AI-powered quantity takeoff
• Parallel release: English edition of the BIM 2.0 white paper
• Partner nod: 31 legacy alliance members recognised on site

Glodon first set up in Malaysia in 2015. The company presents the 2026 event as proof that the local base has moved from early software sales into a fuller ecosystem of government, education and long-term users.

What QuantifAI actually does inside the takeoff workflow

Quantity takeoff is the grind of extracting lengths, areas, volumes and counts from drawings or models so estimators can price work. Traditional methods stay slow and error-prone when drawings change or when structural and architectural packages sit in separate tools.

QuantifAI is positioned as a 2-in-1 structural and architectural platform that folds both into one AI-supported 5D BIM environment. Glodon’s stated principles are Simpler, Speedier and Sharper. Marketing materials and earlier regional demos claim the system can cut complete takeoff time by factors in the 2-7× range on suitable projects, though independent Malaysian field numbers were not released at the launch.

Product leaders in the earlier Indonesia rollout (same global version) described co-creation with local customers, pilot projects and validation against real scenarios. The Malaysian messaging repeats the same line: AI handles data-intensive extraction so surveyors keep the judgment calls.

A decade of Glodon software already runs through Malaysian projects

Glodon Company Limited is a digital building platform provider founded in 1998 and listed in Shenzhen. Recent company figures put 2024 revenue near $848 million with roughly 4,800 employees and operations across more than 30 countries. Its established Cubicost line (TAS for architecture, TRB for rebar/structure, TBQ for bills) already sits in many regional cost workflows.

Malaysia has been an active growth pocket for the Digital Cost business. The 2026 recognition of 31 long-term partners is the public face of that stickiness. Rather than a cold start, QuantifAI lands on top of an installed base that already understands Glodon’s modelling and measurement conventions.

That continuity matters. Switching cost platforms is painful; layering AI on a familiar stack lowers the barrier for the firms that already standardised on Cubicost.

Government, CIDB and universities sit inside the same room

The guest list and signing ceremony show how Glodon is wiring itself into the public digital construction push. A March MoU with CIDB Digital on AI tools and capability programmes preceded the August launch. Senior Works Ministry officials attended both moments.

The new university agreements with TAR UMT and Taylor’s University target curriculum, knowledge exchange and “future-ready” talent. Parallel moves in Indonesia (national BIM competition, polytechnic training on QuantifAI) show the same playbook: seed the next cohort of users while the product is still new.

Malaysia’s own Construction Strategy and JKR plans have for years set BIM targets for larger public projects. The practical gap has been consistent data, trained people and tools that survive contact with real drawings. Glodon’s answer is an ecosystem that tries to close all three at once.

BIM adoption numbers still leave room for a sharper tool

Malaysia ranks high on some digital-construction scorecards. A 2024 Autodesk-Deloitte report cited by CIDB found Malaysian firms average 6.9 digital technologies, 50 percent above the regional average surveyed, with 23 percent of budgets going into new tech. BIM, AI safety systems and modular methods head the list.

Other academic snapshots still put active BIM use on projects as low as the low teens of percent among respondents, with legal complexity, skills and process change as the usual blockers. The two pictures can sit together: firms buy tools, yet full 5D cost integration remains patchy outside flagship jobs.

What we know

• QuantifAI is live for the Malaysian market as of 14 August 2026
• It integrates structural and architectural takeoff under one AI + 5D BIM roof
• Glodon has operated locally since 2015 and just recognised 31 long-term partners
• CIDB Digital MoU and two university deals sit alongside the launch

What remains open

• Independent Malaysian accuracy and time-saving benchmarks on live projects
• Pricing and packaging for different firm sizes
• How quickly public-sector tender rules will reference AI-assisted quantities

The English BIM 2.0 white paper released at the event argues that most current practice is still stuck at modeling and visualisation. It lists three barriers: tools that stop at geometry, disconnected model silos, and management habits that treat BIM as an extra task. BIM 2.0, in Glodon’s framing, moves to living models, component-level collaboration and a DATA + AI foundation that feeds design, cost and construction decisions.

Quantity surveyors keep the judgment, lose the click-count

The clearest second-order claim in the launch materials is labour reallocation. Glodon’s language is careful: AI is not a replacement for professional expertise. It is meant to strip out the repetitive extraction so surveyors can concentrate on analysis, professional judgement and higher-value decisions.

That matches the practical complaint every estimator knows. Takeoff is the data-cleaning step of construction cost. Dirty or late quantities cascade into bid risk, variation claims and final-account fights. If the AI layer genuinely raises consistency across structural and architectural packages, the scarce human skill becomes interpretation and commercial strategy rather than mouse clicks.

Competitors already crowd the AI takeoff space globally (Togal.AI, various Bluebeam Max features, BuildVision-style tools and others). Glodon’s differentiator in Malaysia is the combination of local Cubicost history, 5D cost depth, government and campus relationships, and a single vendor stack that already understands regional measurement conventions.

• Faster baseline quantities free senior surveyors for risk workshops and value engineering
• More consistent data between tender and final account reduces commercial leakage
• Junior staff can be trained on exception review rather than full manual measurement first
• Contractors and consultants who standardise early may lock in process advantage on public jobs that begin requiring richer digital deliverables

Public conversation on X around the specific Malaysian launch stayed quiet outside industry channels. The fuller signal sits in the partner list and the university deals: the companies and schools that already work with Glodon are treating AI takeoff as the next layer on an existing relationship rather than a speculative pilot.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Glodon QuantifAI?

QuantifAI is Glodon’s AI-powered 5D BIM quantity takeoff product that combines structural and architectural measurement in one environment, covering needs from tender stage through construction to final account under the principles Simpler, Speedier and Sharper.

When did Glodon first enter the Malaysian market?

Glodon established its Malaysian presence in 2015 and has spent the intervening decade building software users, partner alliances and, more recently, formal ties with CIDB Digital and local universities.

What does the BIM 2.0 white paper claim?

The paper argues BIM must move past static modeling into information management powered by connected data and AI, overcoming tool, silo and management barriers so project information becomes reusable across design, construction and operations.

Who attended AEC Connect Day 2026 in Kuala Lumpur?

Nearly 1,000 people from ministries, JKR, CIDB, professional bodies such as RISM, MBAM and CIOB, contractors, developers, academia and trade promotion bodies gathered at the KLGCC Convention Centre on 14 August 2026.

Does QuantifAI replace quantity surveyors?

Glodon’s stated position is that the software augments rather than replaces professional expertise by removing repetitive data work so surveyors can focus on analysis, judgement and higher-value commercial decisions.