Last Week in ConTech - 22 January 2024
Rising Trend: New infrastructure is being built by startups not governments.
A summary of the construction technology (ConTech) startup funding, news, acquisitions, policy and regulatory changes which occurred this week.
Last Week in ConTech - 22 January 2024
In this issue there are:
14 Startup Fundings
8 Policy and Regulatory Changes
0 New investment funds
6 Acquisitions
5 News articles
Reading time: 7m 30s
Startup Funding
Payments
Briq, a Californian startup, raised $8m in Series B extension funding. They help construction companies automate their financial workflows including accounts payable and payroll. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Support, 1 role in Sales]
Equipment Management
Hiboo, a French startup, raised €9.3m in funding. They provide a data platform for construction equipment utilizing information from sensors to increase efficiency, reduce waste and enable proactive maintenance practices. More here.
[Hiring - 2 roles in Software, 3 role in Sales, 1 role in Marketing, 1 role in Other]
Safety & Communication
Weavix, a Kansas startup, raised $23.6m in Series B funding. They develop ‘smart’ radios and software to help companies manage and communicate with their frontline workforces including providing language translation, group alerts, picture and video messaging. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Operations, 1 role in Sales]
Prefabrication
KOPE, a London startup, raised £5.5m in seed funding. They provide a software platform for offsite construction services allowing companies to evaluate and contrast differing prefab products and solutions. More here.
[Hiring - 2 roles in Software, 3 roles in Sales, 1 role in Operations, 1 role in Marketing]
Building Decarbonization
Enerdrape, a Swiss startup, raised ~$1.5m in funding. They develop prefab geothermal panels which can be installed in underground instructure (e.g. car parks) creating renewable heat sources for buildings. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Operations, 1 role in Other]
Aira, a Swedish startup, raised €58m in Series B extension funding. They supply heat pumps and home energy technology. More here.
Sealed, a New York startup, raised $26.4m in funding. They design, manage and finance home electrification and weatherization projects (e.g replace oil or gas heaters with electric heat pumps and insulation) and have acquired InfiSense, a startup which tracks energy use. More here.
National Renewable Network, an Australian startup, has raised $10m in seed funding. They aim to provide low cost solar and battery setups to households. More here.
Electrification
Electra, a Parisian startup, raised $330m in Series B funding. They are building a network of fast charging EV stations in Europe. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Software, 10 roles in Sales, 9 roles in Operations, 1 role in Marketing, 2 roles in Support, 1 role in HR, 3 roles in Finance, 1 role in Other]
Water
Membion, a German startup, raised €5m in funding. They have designed a patented membrane bioreactor which can be used for wastewater treatment. More here.
Construction Robotics
Fastbricks Robotics, an Australian company is to raise equity. They develop bricklaying robots and have announced a joint venture with CRH Ventures which may lead to sales of 300 units of their Hadrian X robots ($2m per unit) . More here.
Infrastructure Management
Delfos, a Spanish startup, raised €6.3m in seed funding. They develop software for owners and managers of renewable energy assets (Solar, Wind, Hydro) to help identify and predict maintenance issues. More here.
[Hiring - 2 roles in Sales]
Other
Plaace, a Norwegian startup, raised 885k in seed funding. They gather data to help match retail tenants and retail properties and determine ideal locations and concepts best suited for properties. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Software, 1 role in Support, 1 role in Sales]
Note:
This solution is used by the public sector and is valuable for local governments and municipalities.
Element Zero, an Australian startup, raised $10m in seed funding. They have developed a solution to cost effectively convert metal ores (iron, nickel) into pure metals with zero carbon emissions thereby providing lower carbon materials. More here.
Regulatory & Policy changes
Revised Construction Products Regulation to include EPD data
The EU has reached a provisional agreement on the Construction Products regulation to require Global Warming Potential data from products.
The data is to assist architects, engineers and developers in selecting sustainable building materials.
The data could be used for the establishment of green public procurement by creating minimum sustainability requirements.
By 2030, manufacturers will be expected to report on all the environment impact data contained within EN 15804-based Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
Project Labor Agreement Requirement For Large-Scale Construction Becomes Effective Jan. 22 (US)
As discussed in this issue Biden issued an executive order requiring project labor agreements (PLA) on federal construction projects worth $35m+.
A PLA is a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor organizations to establish the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project.
PLAs are typically negotiated before construction begins and may provide assistance in tracking Davis-Bacon Act and prevailing wage requirements.
The Davis-Bacon Act was changed in October 2023 to adjust how the prevailing wage provided to workers on federal construction projects was calculated (explained in this issue).
The department requires input from the building construction industry on the wages paid to construction workers to determine the prevailing wage.
Participation in the survey is critical to ensure rates are accurate.
Robot worms, lasers, drones and AI: How ARPA-E wants to move the US power grid underground
The US Department of Energy is providing $34m in funding to support projects aimed at moving grid infrastructure underground.
New York will replace gas pipelines to pump clean heat into buildings
13 utility pilot projects aimed at creating neighborhood wide thermal energy networks have begun.
They involve replacing fossil-gas pipelines with pipes to carry water or other liquids that transfer heat from underground to be used by heat pumps to keep buildings warm.
Ground source heat pumps could reduce energy consumption and emissions by up to 44% compared to air source heat pumps.
California governor proposes $283M cut to building decarbonization programs
Californian must address a $37.9b revenue shortfall.
The proposed 2024-25 budget would also delay $600m in funding for the state’s electric vehicle rebate program and EV charging stations.
Air taxi charging infrastructure coming to 3 states in Archer, Joby deals
Two Air Taxi developers, Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation announced deals to install charging infrastructure for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL).
Archer is establishing sites in LA and New York metropolitan areas.
Joby will electrify existing infrastructure in New York and Southern California.
The companies will collaborate with Atlantic Aviation and Beta Technologies, the latter is building a nationwide charging network (55 sites with proposed permitting/under construction).
Related:
On Linkedin I wrote a post predicting that the future of infrastructure will be built by startups, not governments.
The thesis is that the bottleneck for transportation innovation is not technology but rather infrastructure.
I believe it will become increasingly common for transportation startups to construct infrastructure to fuel user growth. Link here.
Fossil fuel boilers effectively phased out in new dwellings (Ireland)
Fossil fuel boilers installed in less than 5% of new dwellings in 2023.
In 2019, the Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) regulations were introduced supporting the rapid transition to low carbon heating systems.
Acquisitions
Stantec, a global engineering firm, is acquiring Morrison Hershfield, a Canadian engineering and management firm. More here.
Holcim, Swiss multinational company which manufactures building materials, has acquired 3 companies:
Artepref, Spanish company providing precast solutions.
W.A.T.T Recycling, a Greek waste management company providing alternative fuels.
Eco-Readymix, a UK company providing advanced mortar solutions.
More here.
Wind Point Partners, a PE firm, has acquired MoreGroup, a Texas suite of architecture, design and engineering brands. More here.
Rekor Systems, a traffic data collection and analytics company has acquired All Traffic Data Services for $19m. More here.
Mytraffic, a London startup providing vehicle and footfall data for any address in 1 click is acquiring Geoblink, a Spanish startup providing a location management platform for retail to optimize tenant selection and location selection. More here.
Sekisui House, a Japanese homebuilder, is acquiring MDC, a Denver developer for $4.9b. More here.
News
NASA’s robotic, self-assembling structures could be the next phase of space construction
Israeli team arrives to hire Indian construction workers
A 15 member Israeli team arrived in India for recruitment drives.
The construction industry in Israel is looking for workers as work permits of a large number of Palestinians have been revoked.
Wireless-charging electric taxi trial provides key learnings for fleets
Google has filed a patent to incorporate current and anticipated parking locations into directions for Google Maps. More here.
Apple Vision Pro: Spatial Computing and Its Impact on Construction Tech
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week.