Despite uncertain economic conditions, a war in Ukraine and looming fears of a recession in the United States, the wheels on the venture capital bus continue to go ‘round and ‘round all through the construction technology sector.
With a growing interest in robotics and streamlined workflows, contractors are looking for ways to make the best use of their time and resources. Read on for six large funding rounds procured thus far in Q2.
Constrafor
New York City-based Constrafor, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) construction procurement platform with embedded financing, announced its more than $100 million seed fundraise round in debt and equity, the company said in a June 1 press release. The company plans on using the money to build out new functionality and expand its subcontractor invoice finance program, Early Pay Program.
With EPP, subcontractors can get paid for approved invoices in 24 to 48 hours, according to the company, and improves cash flows by up to 80 days without having to use outside lending sources.
The round follows an equity round led by Fintech Collective with participation from funds such as Village Global, Clocktower Technology Ventures and others, according to the release.
Buildots
Tel Aviv and London-based construction management software firm Buildots raised $60 million in a Series C funding round mutually led by Viola Growth and O.G. Tech, along with existing investors, the company announced on May 17.
Buildots uses data collection tools from 360-degree cameras mounted on hardhats, and then processes the data with AI, according to the company. Buildots claims its product enables construction teams to build on schedule and flag mistakes in real time. The company is also expanding its products into other fields, such as through integrations with planning platforms Oracle Primavera P6, Asta Powerproject and Microsoft Project.
Buildots will use the new funds to support additional workflows within construction teams, according to the release.
Dusty Robotics
The Mountain View, California-based construction robotics company closed a $45 million Series B round, Dusty Robotics announced on May 10. The round was led by Scale Venture Partners and joined by returning investors Baseline Ventures, Canaan Partners, Root Ventures and more.
Dusty’s flagship robot is the FieldPrinter (pictured above), which automates the process of taking digital floor plans onto construction sites by printing them on the floor through a combination of hardware, software and services, according to the company.
The company will use these funds to grow its team, expand its product offerings and accelerate manufacturing, according to the release.
ALICE Technologies
Menlo Park, California-based construction technology company ALICE Technologies closed a $30 million funding round led by Vanedge Capital. Additional investors included Bouygues, Gaingels, GRID Capital and more.
ALICE is a technology with a variety of uses, according to the release. During preconstruction, contractors use ALICE to explore the scenarios that most efficiently employ project resources such as labor. During the execution phase, contractors then use ALICE Manage to keep their projects on time and on budget, according to the release.
ALICE Founder and CEO René Morkos said that the funding round will be used to hire more workers and fuel the company’s growth, according to the release.
Teleo
Palo Alto, California-based construction robotics company Teleo completed a $12 million Series A funding round led by UP.Partners, it announced on June 8. F-Prime Capital and K9 Ventures also joined in, along with several other investors and angel investors.
The company’s selling point is its reuse of old construction and mining machines, which it turns into semi-autonomous robots. With the automation technology, says the company, an operator can use two or more pieces of heavy equipment, such as backhoes, to the same effect as operators in each machine without automation.
The funding will enable Teleo to scale the deployment of its product and further invest in R&D, according to the release.
Livegistics
Detroit-based construction software firm Livegistics closed on a $6 million seed funding round led by Refinery Ventures and BlackOps Ventures, the company announced on April 7.
The logistics software allows drivers to stay in their trucks and digitally cross scales on job sites, landfills and recycling facilities in 13 seconds, according to the company, which minimizes physical paperwork and fraud. Currently, the company is operating in six states and 13 landfills across the country.
Livegistics will use the funding to boost its staff and marketing efforts, and prepare to scale for national contracts and the launch of the platform’s second edition this quarter, according to the release