Dive Brief:

• Mobile construction app and predictive analytics company FINALCAD announced Monday that it raised $20 million in a series B funding round led by Serena Capital, Caphorn Invest and Aster Capital.
• The company said it will use the money to grow its international business, expand into new sectors (civil infrastructure and energy) and invest in research and development in such areas as smart data analytics, open API interoperability, artificial intelligence, BIM-related augmented reality and lean construction process digitization.
• The 5-year-old company said that despite construction being a $9.5-trillion industry, which is expected to double by 2030, it is "among the least digitized," and FINALCAD CEO Jimmy Louchart said the company is ready to meet the expected global demand for field-based mobile apps.

Dive Insight:

Construction tech startups are continuing to prove popular with investors. This month, Denmark-based GenieBelt, a construction project management and communications startup, raised $2.25 million to help pay for its marketing agenda. The company's app, which allows real-time access to information, makes it possible for project data to be filed from the field.

Other industry startups scoring major investments include Fieldwire, a construction project mobile and web platform services firm that snagged a $6 million investment last year, and bid management startup BuildingConnected, which raised $8.5 million in November. Software firm Uptake, backed by Caterpillar, also drew attention last year when it was named Forbes’ 2015 hottest startup. This summer, mechanics-lien management startup zlien also scored $5-million in growth equity investment for its construction-payment and lien-waiver exchange platform.

Drones are another area of enthusiastic investment, the latest recipient being DroneDeploy. The company, which assists users in planning drone missions with the goal of creating maps and 3-D models, snared $20 million in funding last month toward expansion and product development. In April, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International reported that the construction industry was one of the biggest users of drones. With the recent changes in FAA drone rules, construction industry use of unmanned aerial vehicles is surely set to increase, particularly among larger firms.