Last Week in ConTech - 17 July 2023
Can construction be disrupted & a new $110m ConTech fund
ConTech Roundup - Construction technology startup funding, news and acquisitions this week. No fluff. No marketing.
Last Week in ConTech - 17 July 2023
Startup Funding
Transport
RideTandem, a London based startup raised £2.3m. They are a mobility startup tackling transport poverty in rural areas by engaging with local transport networks. More here.
Construction
Gryps, a Bronx-based startup, raised $6.2m according to a recent SEC filing. They are building a connected intelligence (data) platform for the construction industry.
Bridgit, a Canadian startup, raised $7m in funding. They are building a workforce planning and optimization platform for the construction industry. More here.
Mapping
Bedrock, a New York based startup, raised $25.5m. They build autonomous underwater vehicles to map and survey coastal areas. Offshore wind turbine inspections and foundations is a lucrative market. More here.
Trunk Tools, a New York-based startup, raised $9.9m in seed funding. They are a fintech building a platform to unlock financial flexibility for construction employees to access a portion of their wages daily at no extra cost to them. More here.
Decarbonization
CarbonCure, a Canadian startup, raised $80m. They are building carbon removal technologies for the concrete industry. More here.
Materials
Woodio, Helsinki startup, raised €16.3m. They manufacture ecological, water-resistant wood composite products. More here.
Electrification
Pess Energy, a French startup, raised $2.2M in Series A funding. They are building battery energy systems to replace diesel generators. More here (in French)
Rocsys, a Dutch startup, raised $36m. They automate EV charging using autonomous arms. More here.
New Funds
Suffolk Technologies (affiliated with Suffolk Construction) raised a $110m Construction Fund focused on pre-seed and Series A startups. More here (paywall). No paywall here.
They plan to invest in software that can aid the building process targeting:
Construction Technology
Real Estate Tech
Sustainability
Holcim, the building material company, is an LP in the Suffolk Tech fund. More here.
News
Can the Construction Industry Be Disrupted? (Harvard Business Review)
Frontier tech such as autonomous machinery (earthworks), Robots (layouts), Drones (progress monitoring), Exoskeletons (for laborers) and 3D Printing remain novelty items available to minority of firms with the ability to experiment with tools that have not yet been proven as cost effective.
Reluctance to embrace new tech such as automation is due to cost and extended timeframe before return on capital.
Construction is decentralized and due to small and medium firm dominance, few owners have the financial capacity to purchase these tools.
Large GCs may have more cash but small subcontractors employ the bulk of the workforce. The GCs have little motivation to invest in tech that benefits a another firm.
What is ‘bio-based’ construction and how could it help cities get to net zero?
The Rise and Fall of the Mail-Order Home (Construction Physics)
BlueScope accelerator produces five pilot programs to advance innovation in construction
5G goes members only (Axios)
Rise in localized private 5G networks as a cheaper and quicker alternative to public networks.
Construction sites/projects are a lucrative and growing market for private networks.
IIT Madras offers an online course on construction technology and management. More here. Course here.
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week.