About Ground Up
Built from real geotechnical project experience, designed to make data management straightforward and dependable.
Built from Real Geotechnical Project Experience
Ground Up began with a simple observation: managing geotechnical data takes far more time than it should. Both James Holcombe and Rajat Gangrade had seen this first-hand; one from the software side, the other from engineering and project delivery.
Across consultancies and construction projects, they saw the same pattern repeat. Engineers were spending valuable hours formatting AGS files, chasing missing results and merging spreadsheets before they could even begin analysis. The tools available were either too rigid, too complex, or too expensive for day-to-day work.
GroundUp was built to change that.
Our Purpose: Streamlining Geotechnical Data Management
Ground Up exists to make handling site investigation data easier, faster and more transparent. We believe engineers should be able to focus on the technical judgement that wins bids and improves design, not the admin that slows projects down.
The platform was created for geotechnical consultants and contractors who need to manage, review, and share data efficiently, from tender stage through delivery and reporting. By bringing every dataset into one reliable workspace, Ground Up helps teams save time, reduce rework and maintain full traceability.
Our promise is simple: build tools that make complex data management straightforward and dependable.
Community-Driven Development for the Ground Engineering Industry
From the start, Ground Up has been shaped by the community it serves. Before releasing the full platform, we built and shared a free, open-source AGS editor and checker to test ideas and gather feedback from practising engineers. That open foundation remains central to how we work; transparent, collaborative, and focused on solving the problems that matter most to the profession.
We continue to develop Ground Up in partnership with users across design, contracting, and client organisations, guided by a few simple principles:
Build features that remove friction in real workflows.
Listen, share, and build with the community.
Engineering demands accuracy; the software should too.
Meet the Team
James is a software engineer who has spent his career developing tools for ground engineering teams. He founded Ground Up after years of working alongside geotechnical engineers and seeing how much time was lost managing data manually. His focus is on building reliable, well-designed software that reflects how engineers actually work.
Rajat is a geotechnical and tunnelling engineer with experience on major infrastructure projects. He leads product and strategy at Ground Up, ensuring that every feature serves a clear purpose for practising engineers. Rajat's work bridges the technical and digital worlds, guiding Ground Up's mission to make data management as robust and auditable as the designs it supports.
Work Smarter, Bid Faster, Deliver Better
Ground Up gives geotechnical teams the clarity and speed to do more with the data they already have. It saves hours every week, reduces errors, and helps you win more work with less effort.
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