Last Week in ConTech - 4 December 2023
New ConTech Model: Cloud installers + Funding for building codes to reduce climate risk
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 - 4 December 2023
In this issue there are:
11 Startup Fundings
4 Policy and Regulatory Changes
2 New investment funds
5 Acquisitions
9 News articles
Reading time: 5m 20s
Startup Funding
Design
CalcTree, an Australian startup, raised $2.2m in pre-seed funding. They are building an engineering calculation management solution. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Software]
Monterra, a Californian startup, raised $2.5m in pre-seed funding. They are building a solution to automate the design and planning of EV charging installations. More here.
Decarbonization
One Click LCA, a Finnish startup, raised €40m in funding. They are building a platform which conducts life cycle assessment of materials used in construction. More here.
[Hiring - 3 roles in Sales, 2 roles in Support, 1 role in Software]
ClimateAlpha, a Singaporean startup, raised $5m in seed funding. They are building an AI based platform which uses Geographic Information System (GIS) and economic modeling to help owners understand the financial impact of climate change on their portfolios. More here.
Construction
Databourg Systems, a Luxembourg startup, raised $1m in seed funding. They are building a rainfall monitoring and data analytics solutions which use existing telecom infrastructure for weather monitoring. More here.
Procurement
Construex, an Ecuadorian startup, raised $4.6m in seed funding. They are building a regional marketplace for the construction and design industry and offer adjacent software solutions such as a CRM for suppliers. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Software]
Buildings
Idun, a Swedish startup, raised a funding round (undisclosed). They are the developers of ProptechOS which is an IoT platform and operating system for building data which collects real time data and makes it available to building owners and operators. More here.
Materials
EXACT, a Canadian startup, received an investment (undisclosed). They offer digital monitoring solutions for the concrete industry which empower constructors to monitor, match, cure and track products more effectively. More here.
[Hiring - 2 roles in Operations, 1 in Other (Industrial Controls)]
Osium AI, a French startup, raised $2.6m in seed funding. They use AI to expedite the material innovation process with a focus on addressing sustainability related challenges. More here.
[Hiring - 1 role in Software]
Parking
Pave Mobility, a Florida startup, raised $16m in funding. They provide parking enforcement solutions including digital parking management systems using Licence Plate Recognition technology. More here.
Admyt, a South African startup, raised $1.61m in funding. They provide automated parking technology which provides ticketless access using license plate recognition software. More here.
Regulatory and Policy changes
Could Tougher Building Codes Fix Climate Change?
The US Energy Department is offering states millions of dollars ($400m total) to update their building energy codes as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
It would force new buildings to meet stronger energy standards which reduce consumption.
It is estimated this could reduce future carbon emissions by 2b metric tons and cut $180b from the country’s energy bill over 30 years.
Feds award $34M for digital construction tech
The Federal Highway Administration has awarded the first 10 grants from the federal government’s Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems program.
This program offers $100 million over five years, at a disbursement rate of about $20 million per year.
These grants focus on information sharing, digitizing records and improving productivity and cost savings.
New York City has announced a plan to turn the Hudson River into a marine highway
Goods will be able to be delivered to Manhattan’s piers.
A fleet of electric cargo bikes will deliver the goods on to their final destination.
21 Construction Companies in State Violated Prevailing Wage Laws
Updates to the Davis-Bacon act took effect on October 23, 2023.
As explained in this issue, the changes made the prevailing wage paid to at least equivalent to the page paid to at least 30% of the workers rather than the weighted average wage rate based on geographic areas.
142 workers were shortchanged in hourly and overtime wages by more than $1.2 million.
Violations are often related to employee misclassification, prevailing wages, overtime pay and the use of subcontractors and laborers who may not understand their rights.
The changes and ambiguity provide an opportunity for ConTech startups.
New Funds & Acquisitions
Sustainable Development Capital, a London investment fund, raised ~$709m for a new fund focusing on infrastructure investments to make the built environment more energy efficient. More here.
European Energy, a Danish renewable energy developer, announced a €150m funding facility for renewable energy projects. More here.
Unacast, a location insights and data company, is merging with Gravy Analytics, an enterprise location intelligence company. More here.
Lanes Group, a British company which is a water utility solutions provider, is considering a majority stake sale. More here.
Taiwan Cement, is to acquire stakes in two cement firms from Turkey’s Army Pension Fund. More here.
UltraTech Cement, an Indian cement company, is acquiring the Cement unit of Kesoram Industries, an Indian tire, cement and rayon producer. More here.
Visu-Sewer, a Wisconsin company providing wastewater infrastructure rehabilitation and maintenance services received investment from Fort Point Capital, a private equity firm. More here.
News
The cloud installer model (Foundamental)
The cloud installer:
Aims to create guaranteed capacity from a workforce.
Does so by providing jobs, revenue and cash flow certainty.
Applies radical standardization. They verticalize a task to the simplest level (make a task modular and repeatable ie. solar panel installation).
Mirror the standardized task in software.
Centralize admin and overhead tasks with software.
This creates high utilization, high conversion and improved margins for the workforce.
The central software and brand takes care of job ops, order intake, quoting, invoicing, cash collections and payments etc.
Examples:
Demand for sustainable buildings outstripping supply
The reasons for rising demand are:
Corporations are pledging to reach net zero targets and minimize operating costs.
The mounting costs of climate risk. Failure to adopt mitigation strategies in buildings brings increasing financial risk.
More stringent regulations. Policy changes are creating financial and reputational risk.
Prefab home builder Veev reportedly shutting down after reaching unicorn status last year
Related: Another Day in Katerradise (Construction Physics)
Artificial Intelligence Steps In to Lower Carbon Footprint of Buildings
Heidelberg Materials launches evoZero, the world's first carbon-captured net-zero cement
An insider look at the CSO in AEC companies
A new way to decarbonize buildings can lower emissions—profitably (McKinsey)
Could We Boost Housing Construction by Permitting ADUs Under the HUD Code? (Construction Physics)
The Deadly Global War for Sand (Wired)
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week