HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 19, 2026--
NanoTech Inc. today launched Roovie, which gives every building a world model: a physics-based model of how that specific building behaves, where AI agents can try decisions before anyone makes them for real. Design options, operating changes and capital plans are tested in this proving ground against the owner's goals, priced, and then checked against the meter, closing the gap between how a building was meant to perform and how it actually does.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261016233816/en/
World models are how robots are learning to work in the physical world: they practice in a simulated world, are rewarded for what works, and only then act. Most of those world models are learned approximations of physics. Roovie's is the physics itself. And a building's reward is never a single number. A plan that cuts energy but leaves occupants too hot has failed, and so has one that meets a carbon target but never pays back.
NanoTech didn't set out to build software. As a materials company developing advanced thermal coatings, it needed to prove what its products save on real buildings, and no available tool was rigorous and fast enough to do it at scale. So it built its own engine.
"Robots learn in a world model before they ever touch the real world. Buildings deserve the same: a place to try every decision before you spend a dollar on it. Roovie gives every building a world model built on real physics, a proving ground where our agents work toward your goals, inside your limits, and show you in real dollars how to get there. Then the meter tells us whether we were right."
— Mike Francis, CEO and co-founder, NanoTech Inc.
Why it matters
What it takes to give a building a world model
Because load calculations, HVAC sizing, daylight studies, energy and comfort simulations and compliance checks all run from the same world model, the whole team sees how each change affects everyone else. The world model follows a building from first sketch to its next capital plan, and ESCOs, utilities and lenders get savings estimates they can verify and underwrite.
"With Roovie we can model thousands of buildings across a city, campus or real estate portfolio and see exactly where the biggest opportunities to improve performance are. That turns energy analysis from a one-building-at-a-time service into a way to improve performance across the built environment."
— Nathan Kegel, SVP, Energy Services, NanoTech Inc.
"By simplifying complex building energy modeling workflows, Roovie has the potential to make advanced energy analysis more accessible to a broader range of users, helping overcome traditional barriers such as steep learning curves and specialized industry expertise."
— Jason LaFleur, Senior Manager, Building Decarbonization, GTI Energy
Availability
Roovie opens today to a select group of beta participants: design, engineering and energy services firms, utilities, and government entities. Apply at www.roovie.com.
About NanoTech Inc.
NanoTech Inc. is an advanced materials and building performance technology company that combines materials science and intelligence to make the built environment more efficient, resilient and cost-effective. Through NanoTech Materials, it develops advanced thermal coatings for energy efficiency, insulation and fire resilience. Roovie gives every building a physics-based world model where AI agents test decisions against owners' goals before they are made. NanoTech works with Fortune 500 companies and the California Department of Transportation.
Roovie product image
CAIRO (AP) — Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a military camp for government forces in southern Yemen on Monday, killing at least 53 soldiers, provincial authorities in Shabwa said Monday, making it one of the deadliest attacks in the recent surge in fighting.
The rebels fired three ballistic missiles on the al-Alam military camp in the southern province of Shabwa in an attack that also wounded 200 recruits, the Shabwa provincial government said.
The Iran-backed rebels have acknowledged targeting the camp in Shabwa.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back for updates. AP’s earlier story follows below.
CAIRO (AP) — Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a military camp for government forces in southern Yemen on Monday, killing at least 20 soldiers, Yemeni military officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks in the recent surge in fighting.
The rebels fired ballistic missiles on the al-Alam military camp in the southern province of Shabwa in an attack that also wounded at least two dozen troops. The military officials with the internationally recognized government of Yemen spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Rashad al-Alimi, head of the ruling Presidential Leadership Council, said those killed were new recruits from around the country and promised a “firm response.” He said the attack reflects the Houthis’ "approach of resorting to cowardly terrorist attacks whenever they face pressures or their Iranian-backed sabotage plots falter.”
Col. Majed al-Nazili, spokesman for Yemen’s military, confirmed that the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at a training center for police and security forces, but did not provide further details.
The Houthi-run SABA news agency claimed the rebel attack killed and wounded dozens but did not provide further details.
The camp, which was previously used by a militia backed by the United Arab Emirates, is located in the Jardan district north of the provincial capital of Ataq. It sits on a route to the government-controlled province of Marib and crucial supply lines for government forces.
One of the military officials said that those targeted were part of a newly established force called Rapid Intervention, which is tasked with defending the area. The missiles struck while recruits were lining up in formation for a training session, the official said.
The attack was part of a recent surge in fighting, which began months ago as tensions spiked in the wider Iran-U.S. conflict. The escalation between the Houthis and forces of the Saudi-backed government shattered a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting in Yemen’s civil war.
An airstrike on Sunday blamed on Saudi-led forces killed at least nine people, including five children and two women, in Yemen’s rebel-held northern province of Saada, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said. It was one of several that killed or wounded more than 30 people over the weekend, according to the rebels.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis have resumed attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks because the kingdom has supported Yemen’s government in the civil war.
The rebels have been increasingly targeting Saudi airports and oil and military facilities, disrupting thousands of flights and killing 19 people. The headquarters of Saudi oil giant Aramco has been struck as well in a blow to the world’s top oil exporter.
The rebels also recently seized more territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Saudi-led coalition this month launched a major military offensive to dislodge the rebels from that strategic perch and retake the territory.
Associated Press writer Ahmed al-Haj in Aden, Yemen, contributed to this report.
People ride in a pickup truck during a funeral procession for a Houthi officer in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. The Arabic banner reads, "Martyr Mazen Abdallah." (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
