Last Week in ConTech - 4 September 2023
The growth of Enterprise GPT (AI powered assistants)
ConTech Roundup - Startup funding & news and acquisitions that was important this week in Construction Technology. No fluff. No hype.
Last Week in ConTech - 4 September 2023
Startup Funding
Design / Software
Agave, a San Francisco startup, raised $2.9m in seed funding. They are building a unified API for construction industry software. More here.
Pirros, a Californian startup, raised $2m in seed funding. They are building an engineering detail management system. More here.
Site Safety
Intenseye, a New York startup, raised $65m in Series B funding. They integrate AI into existing cameras to identify safety issues. More here.
Voxel, a San Francisco startup, raised $12m. They integrate with client’s security cameras and use computer vision to increase workplace safety and mitigate risks. More here.
Materials
Measurlabs, a Finnish startup, raised €2.5m in funding. They offer laboratory analysis and testing services helping companies to test new materials and launch products faster. More here
Infrastructure
Northvolt, a Stockholm based company, raised $1.2b in convertible note funding. They are building a battery manufacturing supply chain in Europe. More here.
Energy
DREM, a Stockholm startup, raised $2.2m. They make it easier for homeowners to adopt heat pumps. More here.
Real Estate
Occuspace, a Californian startup, raised $3.6m in seed funding. They provide occupancy monitoring software for property owners including providing foot traffic information. More here.
Jitty, a British startup, raised $2m in pre-seed funding. They are building an AI powered property search engine which can read floor plans and understand descriptions and photos of homes. More here.
New Funds / Acquisitions
Marubeni and Mizuho Bank, both Japan based, are raising a $342m private equity fund focused on overseas infrastructure. More here.
Asterion, a Spanish infrastructure investor will acquire Steag, a German utility for $2.8b. More here.
VertiGIS, a London based provider and developer of GIS solutions and spatial asset management, acquired ibR Gesellschaft für Geoinformation mbH (ibR), a German company specializing in GIS systems for cadaster and surveying. More here.
Soundcore Capital Partners, a New York private equity firm, acquired Asphalt Solutions Inc, an Indiana based provider of asphalt and concrete maintenance and repair services. More here.
News
Bluon’s new generative AI tool helps HVAC operators diagnose, solve problems
Bluon’s MasterMechanic is the ‘ChatGPT for HVAC techs’ — providing them actionable, real-world answers to very specific diagnostic questions in language they can understand.
Walmart rolls out generative AI-powered assistant to 50K employees
Why do we need infrastructure policy? (Construction Physics)
9 smart ways to make Cities better (Bloomberg)
On the Rebound: Micromobility Makes a Full Recovery from COVID-19
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week