Last Week in ConTech - 13 November 2023
The US invests $2 billion for lower-carbon construction at federal buildings
ConTech Roundup - A summary of the construction technology (ConTech) startup funding, news, acquisitions, policy and regulatory changes which occurred this week.
Last Week in ConTech - 13 November 2023
Startup Funding
Environment
Aclarity, a Massachusetts startup, raised $15.9m in Series A funding. They are building a PFAS destruction technology targeted at wastewater treatment. More here.
Note: Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) is a major contaminant concern worldwide due to their detrimental impact on ecosystems and human health and the difficulty involved in eradication.
Building Decarbonization
Brightcore Energy, a New York startup, received $2.5m in grant funding. They are a provider of end to end clean energy for buildings and the grant is to be used to add a geothermal system to an affordable housing development. More here.
Ventive, a British startup, raised £900k in funding. They provide passive air ventilation systems and build modular heat pumps. More here.
SensorSuite, a Canadian startup, raised an undisclosed amount. They provide building control solutions to assist with energy control and data capture. More here.
Transport
May Mobility, a Michigan startup, raised $105m in Series D funding. They develop and deploy autonomous vehicle (AV) technology for AV microtransit services. More here.
Design
Snaptrude, a New York startup, raised $14m in Series A funding. Their cloud based design software allows architects, designers, owners, and contractors to collaborate in real time on the design of a building. More here.
Smart Cities
Upciti, a French startup, raised €6m in funding and €1m in debt. They are building hardware sensors for city centers which are easy to install and maintain and provide real time anonymized data. More here.
Energy
Adaion, a Spanish startup, raised €2.6m in funding. They are building a smart data platform to help grid operators make more informed decisions.
Construction
Beck Technology, a Dallas startup, raised an undisclosed amount of funding. They are building a preconstruction platform for contractors. More here.
BIM
Bimsense (a.k.a operance), a UK startup, raised a further £750k in funding. Their proptech platform helps companies comply with the Building Safety Act (UK) and acts as a single source of truth for building information. More here.
Training
Smalt, a Berlin startup, raised €4.1m in pre-seed funding. Their platform helps to train people to work in the green energy trades sector in roles such as heat pump installation. More here.
Other
Coperniq, a San Francisco startup, raised $4m in seed funding. They are building a workflow management solution for solar and energy contractors. More here.
Policy and regulatory changes
US invests $2 billion for lower-carbon construction at federal buildings
The US will invest $2 billion in 150 federal building projects across 39 states to use materials that minimize carbon emissions.
They will prioritize the purchase of asphalt, concrete, glass and steel which is produced and disposed of with lower levels of associated greenhouse gas emissions.
Construction groups sue over Davis-Bacon change
The Davis-Bacon act changes were implemented on Oct 23.
As mentioned in this issue of the newsletter, the rule change aimed to increase the earnings of workers on federally funded projects.
The update also expanded coverage to include work which takes place at ‘secondary construction sites’ (an example is modular construction where parts of the build are conducted offsite and assembled on site).
The ABC in its lawsuit against the government says that the rule change violates the Davis-Bacon Act by allowing wage rates to be set at a higher level than actually prevailing.
The National League of Cities has issued a guide highlighting new policies and technologies to address air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and traffic congestion. More here.
Acquisitions
Clockworks Analytics, a Boston startup, which is building a smart intelligence platform for facility and energy managers, acquired Animated Insights, which provides digital twin technology solutions across industry and infrastructure. More here.
Instone Capital Partners acquired Encycle, a company focused on helping commercial businesses improve their HVAC system efficiency by using IoT enabled services. More here.
Green Street, a Californian company which provides commercial real estate intelligence and analytics in the US and Europe, acquired Local Data Company, a London company which provides data and insights on the UK’s retail and leisure market. More here.
Ardurra Group, a Miami engineering firm, acquired AZ&B, a Dallas consulting and engineering firm specializing in transportation, aviation and water. More here.
News
How mobility budgets can change the future of transportation (McKinsey)
Mobility budgets are gaining popularity to tackle urban traffic congestion and emissions.
These offer employees a monthly allowance to encourage the use of sustainable transportation like eBikes, eScooters, and public transit.
European governments are supporting these budgets through policies.
Sustainable wooden skyscrapers could soon take over city skylines (Washington Post)
Bedrock, Bosch, Cisco and KODE Labs Launch the Urban Tech Xchange
Urban Tech Xchange is a physical ecosystem for startups to pilot and scale projects in a real world environment.
They will host a series of startups with the goal of advancing new smart city technologies including building, energy, mobility, waste and water tech.
WeWork Just Filed for Bankruptcy
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week