Dive Brief:
- PlanGrid, a digital blueprint startup, announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Sequoia Capital and raised $18 million in series A funding.
- The company's technology aims to help architects as well as construction managers and workers have access to blueprints from a smartphone or tablet, and edit the plans as a group document.
- In 2011, PlanGrid was accepted into Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley seed fund. During its initial 2012 funding round, it garnered $1.5 million from Google Ventures, 500 Startups, Gmail founder Paul Buchheit, current Y Combinator President Sam Altman, and more.
Dive Insight:
According to Fortune, two construction engineers — Tracy Young and Ryan Sutton-Gee — founded PlanGrid after seeing the immense cost and time associated with paper blueprints. Currently, PlanGrid has more than 10,000 customers, including Clark Builders Group and Power Design, and has been utilized for more than 200,000 construction projects.
Technology has become increasingly important in the construction industry, especially during the planning stages. The attention on PlanGrid could point to greater awareness of the need for advancements to better streamline projects, and avoid overruns and delays.
