CAD, BIM, and the AI Leap: Qonic & Raven!

What happens when AI moves beyond chatbots and starts reshaping the actual tools engineers, architects, and designers use every day?In this episode of AI Across the Product Lifecycle, Michael Finocchiaro speaks with Chloë Guidi of Qonic and Moritz Rietschel of Raven about the AI-native future of CAD, BIM, and AEC workflows.Qonic is building a modern, cloud-based BIM platform from scratch, including its own solid modeling kernel, with a mission to make BIM lighter, faster, more accessible, and more data-rich. Raven is building AI-first workflows for complex design environments like Rhino, Grasshopper, Revit, Tekla, and Archicad, helping users navigate fragmented toolchains with less friction.The conversation cuts through the hype and focuses on what is actually changing:AI-assisted software development.AI-native design workflows.Smarter BIM quality checks.More accessible CAD and AEC tools.The economics of LLM-powered software.The difference between “software built with AI” and “software that only makes sense because AI exists.”Chloë and Moritz also discuss whether engineering and BIM are heading toward their own “OpenAI moment,” why open standards and data quality matter, and what young engineers should do as AI changes the skills required to stay relevant.This is a practical, founder-level look at how AI is moving into the real workflows of design, modeling, validation, and engineering decision-making.Topics covered: AI in CAD, AI in BIM, AEC software, digital twins, Rhino, Grasshopper, Revit, engineering workflows, AI coding, MCP, open standards, startup innovation, and the future of AI-native engineering tools.