Last Week in ConTech - 18 December 2023
Highlights from the COP28 Summit
A summary of the construction technology (ConTech) startup funding, news, acquisitions, policy and regulatory changes which occurred this week.
Last Week in ConTech - 18 December 2023
In this issue there are:
15 Startup Fundings
6 Policy and Regulatory Changes
5 Acquisitions
10 News articles
Reading time: 7m 30s
Startup Funding
Building Decarbonization
Ecoworks, a German startup, raised €40m in Series A funding. They automate the design process of retrofitting buildings (focusing on apartment blocks) in two ways:
They install prefabricated insulation panels on buildings to limit heat loss.
They provide renewable energy generation via pipework and cables in the panels to deliver new heating services powered by clean energy.
More here.
[Hiring - 6 roles in Other]
Autarc, a German startup, raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding. They provide planning software to help heating engineers work more efficiently to install heat pumps. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Sales, 1 role in Software, 1 role in Support + 2 more roles]
Insurance
Rosetta Risk Management, a British startup, raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding. They provide a construction risk tool and will use the funds to aggregate risk performance data and transition to become a tech-enabled construction insurance MGA. More here
Construction Supervision
ObraLink, a Chilean startup, raised $500k in funding. They are building a construction monitoring platform and have developed technology to monitor the hardening process of concrete to inform when formwork can be removed. More here.
Training & Education
Montamo, a Berlin startup, raised €2.1m in pre-seed funding. They provide training to migrants to become skilled construction workers in the energy sector through a hybrid approach of specialized training centers and digital solutions. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Sales, 3 roles in Operations, 5 roles in Other]
Asset Management
Invert Robotics, an Irish startup, raised €2.5m in funding. They design and manufacture robot inspection crawlers for non destructive testing. More here.
[Hiring - 6 roles in Other]
Procurement
BuildClub, a Californian startup, raised $800k in a crowdfunding campaign. They are building a construction material marketplace solution which offers same day delivery nationwide. More here.
Tacto, a German startup, raised $53.9 million in funding. Their solution help companies reduce their procurement costs by analyzing key costs such as raw materials and energy. More here.
[Hiring - 4 roles in Sales, 11 roles in Software, 2 roles in Operations + 6 more roles]
Smart City
Actility, a Parisian startup, raised $17.3m in funding. They provide low power wide area Internet of Things (IoT) networks which integrate across sectors and enable smart city innovations such as smart parking or lighting solutions. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Sales, 1 role in Operations]
Water
Digital Paani, an Indian startup, raised $1.2m in seed funding. They provide software solutions to enhance wastewater treatment infrastructure functionality by monitoring performance, identifying issues and providing remedial guidance. More here.
Exoskeletons
German Bionic, a German startup, raised €15m in extended Series A funding. They develop exoskeleton suits for workers to reduce repetitive stress injuries and provide up to 30 kg of force. More here.
[Hiring - 2 roles in Sales, 3 roles in Operations, 4 roles in Software, 2 roles in Other]
Related: See EXSKALLERATE a European & UK initiative to increase the adoption of exoskeletons in construction by supporting the free trial of passive exoskeletons.
Verve Motion, a Massachusetts startup, raised $20m in Series B funding. They develop robotic exosuits to protect workers in factories and other potentially hazardous environments. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Sales, 6 roles in Support]
Mobility
Lyko, a French startup, raised €1.4m in funding. They provide an API platform which centralizes the systems of thousands of public and private transport operators allowing cities and companies to easily develop and offer the best multimodal mobility solution for commuters. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Software, 1 role in Operations]
Other
Zuper, a Seattle startup, raised $32m in Series B funding. Their platform provides automated workflows for field services management companies. More here.
[Hiring - 7 roles in Software, 2 roles in Operations, 3 roles in Sales, 1 role in Support, 1 role in Other]
Geo-Solutions, a Pennsylvanian startup, received an undisclosed amount of investment. They provide geotechnical and environmental remediation services. More here.
Regulatory & Policy Changes
COP28 Recap: Built Environment (Fifth Wall)
Buildings Breakthrough
Led by France and Morocco (supported by 27 countries) this partnership aims to make near-zero and resilient buildings the new normal by 2030.Cement Breakthrough
Launched by Canada and UAE, along with the UK, Ireland, Turkey and Germany. This initiative aims to make clean cement the preferred choice in global markets with production established and growing in every region of the world by 2030.15-minute Cities
C40, a network of 100 mayors in the world’s leading cities, will initiate pilot projects to accelerate the adoption of the 15-minute city—highly livable and walkable cities.
EU to improve energy performance of buildings
According to the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) each EU member state needs to reduce the average primary energy use of residential buildings by 16% by 2030, and 20-22% by 2035.
For non-residential buildings, the 16% worst-performing buildings will need to be renovated by 2030 and the 26% worst-performing buildings by 2033.
For existing public and non-residential buildings solar will need to be gradually installed, starting from 2027.
New Seattle law phases out emissions from large buildings by 2050
The law will create the Building Performance Emissions Performance Standard (BEPS), which will set targets and timelines for the city’s large buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This law applies to ~4,100 buildings that are 20,000 square feet or larger.
It’s estimated that the policy will reduce emissions from buildings by 27 percent and reduce Seattle’s total core emissions by about 10 percent.
How construction contracts might deal with ‘completion’ of higher-risk buildings (UK)
Higher risk buildings (HRBs) are those which are over 18 meters or at least seven storeys which contain at least two residential units; or are care homes or hospitals meeting the same height requirements.
Under the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA), higher risk buildings must be approved by the Health and Safety Executive, as building safety regulator (BSR), at the following stages and projects cannot proceed to the next stage without approval:
Gateway 1: Planning application stage
Gateway 2: Before construction works start
Gateway 3: Before building is occupied
To pass through Gateway 3, the employer under the building contract must obtain a construction completion certificate from the BSR.
Employers and contractors should now consider how contractual provisions relating to practical completion should align with the gateway system and the requirement of the construction completion certificate.
[read article for detailed explanation]
To be truly net-zero, buildings must buy 100% renewable energy
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development net-zero operational carbon buildings report calls for a clear and globally consistent definition of net-zero buildings. It finds:
No globally consistent and robust definition of a net-zero building.
Not one national policy requiring buildings to have net-zero emissions now or in the future.
Substantial variation in standards set by industry certifications.
A negligible number of truly net-zero buildings globally.
BEE To Introduce ECSBC, Revolutionizing Indias Construction For Sustainable Growth
India is to introduce the Energy Conservation and Sustainable Building Code (ECSBC).
This will establish minimum energy performance standards for new commercial and residential buildings to curb carbon emissions.
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Acquisitions
RMA Companies, a Californian company providing environment consulting, geoscience and material testing and inspection acquired Rone Engineering, a Texas engineering consultancy. More here.
Vontas, a Canadian intelligent transit company acquired Orion Labs, a Californian company providing voice, location and data messaging services for frontline teams. This provides Vontas with a module to help transit agencies make individual, group and fleetwide calls and will support their computer-aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location services. More here.
Harvest Partners, a private equity firm, acquired Road Safety Services, a Nebraska company providing pavement marketing and other road safety related services. More here.
Anacacia Capital is exploring a sale of its Australian construction and infrastructure business, RP Infrastructure. More here.
WTWH Media, an Ohio company providing digital first B2B media acquired Engineering.com, a Canadian digital B2B media company. More here.
News
COP28 Transportation roundup (McKinsey)
Wisk Aero trials autonomous flights in New Zealand and in talks to provide air taxi services for Indonesia’s new capital. More here and here.
NASA taps LSU for lunar construction research
Paris’s Urban Forest Plan Takes a New Step Forward
Paris is planting over 170,000 trees with plans to cover up to half of Paris with an urban forest.
India to emerge as lead construction market globally by 2028
China issues safety guidelines for autonomous public transport vehicles
Autonomous vehicles used for public transportation must carry a human attendant.
How New York’s Aging Buildings Get Inspected (New York Times)
Holcim launches Phoenix, the first-of-its-kind circular 3D-printed concrete bridge
Air Conditioning use could double by 2050 accelerating greenhouse gas emissions (New York Times)
How to build a bike lane in America (The Verge)
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week