Last Week in ConTech - 18 May 2026
Asking Brick & Mortar Ventures how LP strategies scale
Deep Insight: Asking Brick & Mortar Ventures how LP strategies scale
“There’s never been a better time to be a construction tech founder or investor.”
That was the quote I walked away with last week after moderating a fireside cat at the Brick & Mortar Ventures office with Darren Bechtel and Kaustubh Pandya.
It’s a discussion I’d been looking forward to as Brick & Mortar is one of the more storied funds in the space, founded back in 2015 when construction tech barely had a cohesive investment thesis, let alone a unicorn.
Since then, the fund has achieved 12 exits representing more than $3b in exit value and both speakers have uniquely interesting backgrounds:
Darren is a fifth generation member of Bechtel Construction dynasty, one of the largest privately owned construction firms in the US and wrote the largest seed check into PlanGrid.
Kaustubh co-authored the McKinsey paper “The new age of engineering and construction technology” in 2017 that is still referenced in slide decks.
We covered a range of topics on the current state of construction tech, but toward the end I asked a question I’d always wanted to ask:
How does the LP model for construction tech VCs actually scale?
One of the hidden truths of construction tech VCs is that many funds are heavily reliant on strategic LPs such as GCs, material suppliers, AEC firms, or software providers to anchor early funds. But there is a limited pool of capital as only so many have the ability and willingness to write $5m to $10m checks.
And when they do invest, they’re often seeking strategic value more than financial returns.
That creates a very different operating model for venture firms.
Partners spend enormous amounts of time supporting LP relationships through exclusive reports, market intelligence, introductions, events, and access to dealflow. In many ways, they become ecosystem connectors as much as investors.
The challenge is that this becomes difficult to scale.
There are only so many hours in a day and corporates want direct access to partners at that check size, not analysts.
I’ve seen firms attempt to solve this time commitment in different ways:
Tiered LP benefits based on investment size
Invite-only communities and events
Proprietary dealflow platforms with market maps and investor notes
The goal is always the same, try to increase scalability while reducing the amount of direct partner time required.
But there’s a balancing act here.
Most venture funds operate on a “2 and 20” model:
2% annual management fee on assets under management (AUM)
20% carry on investment profits
At first glance, a $50m fund sounds substantial.
But over a 10-year lifecycle, that’s roughly $1m a year in management fees after spreading it across salaries, travel, operations, and platform support. Returns also may not materialize for 7 to 10 years.
To build a durable business, firms often need to continuously raise new funds every few years, long before returns from prior funds materialize. But in construction tech, each additional strategic LP can also increase the operational burden through relationship management, events and ecosystem support constraining growth.
At some point, you need institutional LPs interested.
That means pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and other large allocators.
The challenge is that many institutions have minimum deployment thresholds, they may require a manager capable of deploying $100m+.
But that introduces a different risk.
If the category itself isn’t mature enough to efficiently absorb that amount of capital, incentives can begin to shift. The business of venture can start optimizing around management fees and AUM growth alongside returns.
You can see versions of this dynamic in PropTech, where firms like Fifth Wall, Camber Creek, and Moderne Ventures have each raised very large funds over time.
That doesn’t mean those firms haven’t generated strong outcomes, but when you have a $1b fund or $20m in fees a year, you don’t need to. It raises a broader question around category investing:
At what point does fund size begin influencing behavior more than opportunity quality?
Construction tech now sits at an important inflection point.
According to Tracxn, there are now more than 12,000 construction tech startups globally, with roughly 2,500 having raised venture funding.
For the category to continue compounding, institutional capital likely needs to enter the ecosystem in a bigger way. Strategic LPs alone probably aren’t enough.
But scaling too aggressively carries its own risks.
To generate venture-level returns, funds still need discipline around check size, stage selection, pacing, and ownership strategy. And many recognize this, being selective in the fund size or signing institutional investors to invest across funds i.e $10m in each of the next 3 funds.
This tension is particularly relevant given the broader perception that PropTech, as a category, has generally underperformed relative to expectations or capital deployed.
As the category matures, the relationship between fund scale, LP mix and deployment quality becomes an increasingly important dynamic to watch.
In this issue there are:
13 Startup Fundings
15 Policy and Regulatory Changes
6 New National Infrastructure Projects & Priorities
0 New investment funds
0 Acquisitions
7 News articles
36 new jobs posted - view here
Reading time: 15 mins
Startup Funding
Procurement
ProcurePro, an Australian startup, raised US$11m in Series B funding. They are building an end to end construction procurement platform which digitizes the entire projects from scheduling, tendering, bid analysis and subcontracting enabling contractors to lock in project margins and eliminate financial risk before contractors are signed. More here.
Notes:
ProcurePro announced their Series A funding in January 2024.
At the time the description I wrote was:
ProcurePro are building a procurement platform maintaining subcontractor agreements, scopes of work, scheduling and procurement milestones to help contractors monitor the status of subcontracted work.
Reading the recent press release, the product positioning appears to have expanded towards preconstruction workflows, particularly around estimating (pricing library) and bid comparison.
The release highlights that the data captured through procurement workflows now underpins “BidLevel AI”, a tool designed to compare complex subcontractor quotes.
The funding is also framed around enabling construction firms to estimate project costs using historical purchasing data rather than intuition or fragmented historical knowledge.
The stated goal is improved estimating accuracy, which flows through into more accurate bidding and improved margin protection.
This shift is interesting because it reflects how startup products often evolve between Series A and Series B, moving from a focused workflow wedge into adjacent, higher-value decisioning layers (single product to multi-product offerings).
Analyzing this shows the scaling strategy they have followed including their initial wedge and then the broader market opportunity they’ve identified.
It often reminds me of the piece Think Like Odysseus by Alice Leung where she notes:
“When evaluating startups, I think about what pain point they’re solving, how they are initially tackling it, and what the in between looks like. I love it when the initial product doesn’t look anything like what the end product should be, but the path getting there makes so much sense. That initial product is the Trojan Horse.
Is there some feature or simple tool that we can build for the intended customer that solves an annoying, every day problem, yet allows the startup to continuously build on top of? And, is there some way to leverage another part of the supply chain to help that startup scale?”
In ProcurePro’s case, the initial procurement workflow appears to have functioned as both a product wedge and a data collection mechanism.
Over time, that workflow has generated a structured dataset around subcontractor pricing, scope definitions, and procurement timelines.
This can now be used to assist with estimating and bidding workflows, which to me, seems like a much more valuable wedge.
(I’d note this is my hypothesis from reading press materials and their website as I haven’t seen an early pitch deck for the company - they may have had a different hypothesis / journey).
Home Services
Driive, a Nebraska startup, raised Pre-Seed funding (undisclosed). They are building an AI booking and scheduling platform for home services trades such as HVAC, plumbing, roofing and more that answers inbound calls, texts and emails, qualifying the home owner and booking appointments. More here.
AI
Ciridae, a San Francisco startup, raised $20m in Seed funding. They are developing an operating system for real economy business such as construction, restoration and logistics companies and embed engineers and business partners with customers to understand operations and then build an AI operating system which works for the business. More here.
Notes:
The Palantir model of embedding Forward Deployed Engineers (FDE) is becoming more common for AI deployment in our industry.
It makes sense given the complexity of construction firms operations and the lack of internal standardization.
One contractor mentioned to me that it can be easier to sell to a different company than to sell to each project internally as each one has its own corporate structure and operating systems.
I’ve seen this myself where I was assigned on 3 different projects at the same time and one used our local file structure to save documents, another used Bentley and the other had Aconex as the primary document control interface.
It meant that I would switch my tech stack multiple times in the same day.
Pillar, an Italian startup, raised €12m in Seed funding. They are building an AI powered operating system for construction that automates back office processes such as quote generation, margin tracking, workforce management, and reporting integrating data from systems, banking feeds, construction sites, and communication tools such as WhatsApp. More here.
Ranger AI, a US startup, raised $8.4m in Seed funding. They are developing an agentic operating system for tendering for industrial workflows and infrastructure projects including automating vendor submittal review from deviation reports to specification compliance, datasheet processing and approval package generation. More here.
Robotics
Xpanner, a Californian startup, raised $18m in Series B funding. They deliver Automation As A Service (AaaS) for civil and solar construction sites, retrofitting existing equipment with hardware and software that enable autonomous operation and having customers subscribe to task-specific automation licenses such as piling, material handling, trenching and grading AaaS model. More here.
Notes:
The company shared that they grew revenue from $3 million in 2023 to $7 million in 2024 to $21 million in 2025.
Green Materials
Terra CO2 Technologies raised an additional $22m in Series B funding (bringing the total Series B amount to $147m). They develop low carbon building materials with the goal of creating a net zero cement and are first making and selling low carbon supplementary cementitious material that can be blended with traditional cement. More here.
ECOncrete, a New York startup, raised $14m in funding. They develop bio-enhancing technology that can be integrated into concrete based marine infrastructure such as seawalls, breakwaters, ports and waterfronts to improve ecological outcomes. More here.
Workforce Development
Gyver, an Italian startup, raised €1.4m in Pre-Seed funding. They are developing a career platform for electrical technicians helping them to find roles as well as upskilling, learning and productivity tools. More here.
Notes:
There are ~28m skilled blue collar workers in the EU.
An additional 5.8m will be needed by 2030.
I always find these startups interesting as instead of linking to their Linkedin page, trades focused startups tend to have instagram and tiktok accounts on their website.
In this case their instagram has 18k+ followers and tiktok 7k+.
Government
GovWell, a New York startup, $25m in Series A funding. They are developing an AI operating system for local governments assisting with tasks such as Permitting, Planning and Zoning and Code Enforcement including plan review and scheduling inspections. More here.
Robotics
Flo Mobility, an Indian startup, raised $2.5m in Pre-Series A funding. They build physical AI and robotics solutions for construction, initially developing a battery powered hauler that is able to transport loads up to 1.5 tonnes across construction sites helping with material movement. More here.
Notes:
This is interesting to me as Flo Mobility claims to have deployed more than 60 robots across 10 Indian states.
India has a lower cost of labor than the US which can make solution adoption challenging.
For example I heard of a case of a computer vision startup attempting to sell to the market.
They were rebuffed as it was cheaper to hire a person to sit on site and manually complete the task they offered to automate.
I’d be very curious to learn the cost of this solution and the ROI consideration as if this can gain traction in the Indian market, I’d assume that the value provided in the US market would be much greater.
Other - Smart Cities
ENVIOTECH, a Germany startup, raised €1m in Pre-Seed funding. They develop retrofit kits that enable municipalities to upgrade existing street lighting and take less than 15 minutes to install to monitor, dim and manage lighting more effectively. More here.
Other - Home Management
Hint, a North Carolina startup, raised $10m in Seed funding. They help homeowners manage home maintenance, repairs and property decisions with personalized guidance and real time home monitoring. More here.
Policy and Regulatory Changes
US
A Michigan data center fight shows AI infrastructure is outgrowing local vetoes
The township, with roughly 2,300 residents, rejected the proposed 1.4GW data center last September.
The planning commission and township board both voted against the project, with the board reportedly voting 4-1 against the rezoning request.
Related Digital, the developer behind the project, and landowners sued the township shortly after the rejection, arguing that the decision amounted to exclusionary zoning.
This was as the township had no land zoned for industrial use and the township settled within weeks.
By November, construction activity was underway.
Trump’s EPA Seeks Looser Construction Rules for Gas Plants, Data Centers and Factories
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced proposed changes that would allow gas power plants, data centers and factories to begin construction on non-polluting components.
This is piping, wiring, cement pads and other support structures before obtaining air-emission permits.
The construction definition rules announced would also add language to say that prohibited construction activities do not include “clearing vegetation, grading, surveying, soil compacting and stabilization … and excavating land.”
The prohibition of construction prior to permit issuance would also exempt utility services bringing electrical, water, wastewater or telecommunications services to a property site or building.
New York budget to limit environmental reviews to fast track housing
New York lawmakers are proposing changes to the state’s environmental review law, which would allow developers of some housing projects to skip ecological impact studies.
The State Environmental Quality Review Act makes government agencies study the impacts of construction on air quality, water systems, and local communities.
The SEQRA process starts when an applicant submits an environmental assessment form.
A full review can take two years or more to complete before local jurisdictions can start their own separate approval process.
Texas county pauses data center construction in rural areas for a year
A rural Texas county on Tuesday approved a one-year pause on the construction of new data centers in unincorporated areas.
The decision comes amid a growing statewide battle over Texas’ data center boom, particularly in rural counties where projects are rapidly moving into unincorporated areas with no zoning.
Trump official opens door to gas tax suspension
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the Trump administration is “open” to suspending the federal gasoline tax amid high pump prices.
The average U.S. price for regular gas hit $4.52 per gallon Sunday, per AAA, up from just under $3 when the war began.
Notes:
The gasoline tax and the 24.3-cent diesel tax support the nation’s Highway Trust Fund that pays for roads, bridges and other transit.
What does Colorado’s first statewide wildfire building code mean for homeowners?
Colorado is the first Western state after California with a statewide, mandatory building code for structures in the wildland-urban interface.
This is where communities encroach on wilderness with wildfire potential.
The new code imposes minimum standards on new construction, including the use of fire-resistant materials.
For existing homes and other structures, the new rules kick in for exterior walls and roofs when the damage to be repaired is more than 25% of the whole.
Giant Virginia Data Center Project Upended by Clerical Error
The Digital Gateway was an ambitious plan for a 2,100-acre corridor that would house as many as 37 data-center buildings.
After a clerk didn’t respond promptly to an email, the first two public notices for a key zoning meeting were published in the Washington Post three days apart.
This is instead of the minimum of six that laws require.
It contributed to the court rulings voiding zoning approvals for the project.
Florida Governor Signs Bill Dropping Building Permits for Work Valued at $7,500 or Less
Florida’s governor has signed House Bill 803 into law, dropping building permit requirements for construction work valued at $7,500 or less.
The bill also directs the Florida Building Commission to adopt a statewide commercial building code and a residential building code by July 2027.
India
VB-G RAM G replacing MGNREGA to come into force across India from July 1
The Centre, formally notified the implementation of Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) (VB–G RAM G Act).
This replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Under VB-G RAM G Act, every rural household whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work will be entitled to 125 days of guaranteed wage employment.
This is an increase from the existing 100-day guarantee under MGNREGA.
Payments will be made weekly or within 15 days from the closure of the muster roll, failing which workers will be entitled to delay compensation.
Delhi Boosts Dust Control: Mandatory New Standards at Construction Sites
The Delhi government has mandated high-density dust screens at all construction and demolition sites to combat dust pollution.
A minimum thickness of 100 GSM for green nets is now required under the new standards issued by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
The initiative includes the ‘Dust Portal 2.0’ for monitoring compliance, with mandatory registration and collaboration with key agencies.
India opens BOT highway bids to global funds
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has expanded eligibility for Build-Operate-Transfer (Toll) projects.
This now includes Alternative Investment Funds, Foreign Investment Funds, pension, and sovereign wealth funds.
Previously, only highway developers and construction companies could bid.
Under the revised rules, institutional investors will be evaluated solely on financial capacity, set at twice the threshold for traditional bidders.
China
China’s Nuclear Energy Priorities Under Its 15th Five-Year Plan
China adopted the 15th Five-Year Plan (15FYP) for 2026–2030 in March.
Key Observations:
China continues to view nuclear as an electricity source that advances its energy security while also reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
Developing and deploying Chinese-made reactors has been a priority for the Chinese government.
Advanced nuclear reactors are a technology development priority.
Russia continues to be an important partner in the field of nuclear technology.
Fusion energy is one of the eight technology areas for focused development under the 15FYP, investing over $6.5 billion since 2023.
Germany
German Cabinet Scraps Green Heating Rule in Bid to Revive Building Investment
Germany will replace its 2023 heating law, removing the requirement for new heating systems to use at least 65% renewable energy.
New gas and oil systems will need to blend climate-neutral fuels from 2029, rising from 10% to 60% by 2040.
Australia
Environmental reforms to get $500 million boost in bid to unlock housing, critical projects
The federal government has earmarked $500 million in the 2026 budget to implement reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The changes are expected to streamline approvals and help boost housing supply and investment in critical projects.
This additional funding is on top of $2 billion set aside to help build infrastructure required to unlock housing development.
New Zealand
New Zealand Plans Law Change to Block Action Against Polluters
New Zealand’s government plans a law change to prevent private legal action against greenhouse gas emitters.
The Government will amend the Climate Change Response Act to prevent findings of liability for tort for climate change damage or harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
The move is a response to a case brought by climate campaigners against companies alleging that their emissions add to damage from climate change.
Notes:
This has impacts on investment and business confidence including downstream effects on certain construction verticals.
National Infrastructure Projects & Priorities
US
BLM to hold New Mexico geothermal lease sale on June 2026
The BLM will be holding a geothermal lease in New Mexico in June 2026 covering 68 parcels at more than 197,000 acres across five counties.
25% of the bid, rental receipts, and subsequent royalties will go to the U.S. Treasury, 25% will go to the county where the lease is located, and the remaining 50% will go to the State of New Mexico.
Notes:
Around a year ago, a report published by Project InnerSpace indicated that New Mexico has 163 GW of geothermal potential.
Brookfield and The Nuclear Company target VC Summer project
Construction of two AP1000 units began at VC Summer in 2013 but was abandoned in 2017 following reactor vendor Westinghouse’s filing for bankruptcy.
Brookfield said it has selected the new company to project manage the completion of the two VC Summer units.
The new company will support due diligence activity for the project and oversee the delivery should it move forward to Final Investment Decision.
Notes:
Last year, the US Government, Cameco and Brookfield announced a strategic partnership for the construction of at least USD80 billion of new reactors across the USA.
This is using Westinghouse nuclear reactor technology.
India
India to Become 2nd Largest Construction Equipment Market by 2030
The Indian construction equipment industry sold a total of 136,995 units during the financial year 2026, and ICEMA expects the market to grow to around 250,000 units by 2030.
Exports have emerged as a major growth driver for the sector, with Indian-made machines now being shipped to more than 125 countries, including developed markets in Europe.
The shift to Stage 5 emission norms has helped Indian manufacturers access new export markets.
The US and China are currently the top two markets globally.
Hungary
Hungary to review Paks nuclear plant expansion, ministerial nominee says
Hungary will review the financing and implementation of the Paks nuclear power plant expansion project.
The 12.5-billion-euro ($14.7 billion) project to expand the 2-gigawatt Paks nuclear power plant with two Russian-made VVER reactors was awarded in 2014.
It was done without a tender to Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, and has been delayed by years.
Political observers often cited the project as a prime example of the close ties between Budapest and Moscow under the former prime minister.
The incoming government has vowed to change as part of a push to mend relations with the European Union.
Vietnam
Over 95% of Vietnam’s population to access airport within 100 kilometer radius by 2030
Vietnam is expected to have a total of 30 airports by 2030 to meet both domestic and international transport demand.
Total investment to build and upgrade airports by 2030 is estimated at VND420 trillion ($17.7 billion).
By 2050, the country is expected to have 33 airports, including 14 international airports and 19 domestic airports.
Ethiopia
China’s Ming Yang secures $14.1 billion, 2.8GW Ethiopia solar investment
Chinese renewable energy manufacturer Ming Yang Smart Energy Group has received an investment licence from the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC).
This is for a US$14.1 billion clean energy and industrial development project in Ethiopia, including 2.8GW of solar PV capacity.
News
The Infrastructure Machine That Texas Built
Housing is a Supply Problem. How can Tech Help?
America’s Most Infamous Nuclear Site Returns to Fuel the AI Boom
US power transformer buyers scramble for imports, factory slots
AI Boom Shows Top US Grid ‘Too Big to Function,’ Regulator Says
A Texas City Bet Big on Industry. Now It’s Running Out of Water.
Mexico City Is Sinking. A Powerful NASA Satellite Just Revealed How Fast
A new NASA map shows how the sinking of Mexico City is uneven, with areas registering up to 2 centimeters per month.
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week.