2023 was a challenging year for contech.
Despite a slight uptick in the number of deals, funding for construction technology startups took a huge blow, dropping to $3 billion last year from $5.4 billion in 2022, or 44%, according to a report from Cemex Ventures, the VC arm of Madrid-based Cemex.
Even with the slowdown, however, some firms managed to pull in massive funding rounds, driven by their products and resilience in the contech sector to broader economic conditions.
Here are nine of the top deals from 2023.
EquipmentShare
$440 million
EquipmentShare is an equipment and digital solutions provider for the construction industry. The company provides software and digital services to give contractors visibility into their fleets, as well as a rental and purchasing platform for construction equipment, according to its website. The company originally raised $290 million by April 2023, and acquired another $150 million in an extension round in September.
Boston Metal
$262 million
Boston Metal’s scalable technology platform takes mining slag and reclaims valuable metals through a process called Molten Oxide Electrolysis, which uses electricity to selectively extract metals while producing a lower carbon footprint from the process.
The company raised $262 million in 2023, and kicked off 2024 with an additional $20 million infusion, according to its latest news release, bringing its total funding to date to $282 million.
Gropyus
$109 million
The Austrian modular builder Gropyus pulled $109 million in a Series B funding round in 2023. The firm fabricates building elements in its factory and uses its own building operating system, complete with sensors, to monitor elements of the building for maintenance purposes and provide customer support.
Infogrid
$90 million
Property management software developer Infogrid’s platform gathers data from a variety of internet of things sensors placed throughout buildings to assist property managers in understanding the environment within their buildings. The U.K.-based company received $90 million in a Series B funding round in April.
Carbon Cure
$80 million
Carbon Cure technology allows producers to inject captured carbon dioxide into fresh concrete during mixing. The process mineralizes the gas to keep it out of the atmosphere while also increasing the concrete’s strength. The machine that makes this possible is retrofitted at the concrete plant, and does not need to be present at the jobsite. The company garnered $80 million in a Series B funding round.
Ubq
$70 million
This Israeli firm takes trash and organic waste, like banana peels, diapers and pizza boxes, and turns that refuse into a homogeneous thermoplastic that could replace oil-based plastics in industries like construction. The company acquired $70 million in a Series C round.
Percepto
$67 million
This Israeli software developer creates programs that allow builders to use autonomous drones, robots and AI to inspect and monitor their jobsites and critical infrastructure. The firm also sells drones out of the box, equipped with software. Its $67 million came from a Series C funding round.
Mighty Buildings
$52 million
The modular home builder creates adaptable wall components that are assembled on the job site, which the company claims can fit almost any plan. It uses a material it calls Lumus, which quickly cures into a stone-like composite that the company claims has five times the tensile and flexural strength of concrete while weighing 30% less. The company pulled $52 million in a Series C funding round.
Buildops
$50 million
Buildops is a platform that integrates scheduling, dispatching, inventory management, contracts, workflow, purchasing and invoicing into an all-in-one cloud-based suite. The company earned $50 million in a Series A funding round.