British modular construction startup Modulous raises £10 million
The US isn’t the only country where modular construction is experiencing a rise in popularity, because over in the UK, Modulous has just raised £10 million. Founded in London in 2018, the startup makes it easier for housing developers, architects and construction companies to configure and design modular homes.
Modulous’ “end-to-end” platform covers all stages of the modular home-building process, including architecture and design. The software can generate optimised designs specific to a building site and based on a catalogue of standardised elements. Modulous then provides architects and developers with 3D visualisations and detailed costings, allowing them to assess the profitability of a project from the outset. It also helps everyone involved in the project establish its technical feasibility in hours, rather than weeks. The software can also help orchestrate deliveries and facilitate component assembly, thus optimising the construction process.
With this Series A round, the startup welcomes SFV (an investment fund backed by German real estate developer Patrizia), Regal London, CEMEX Ventures, Blackhorn Ventures, GroundBreak Ventures, Goldacre and Leela Capital to its capital.
Toric, a no-code data analytics solution for the construction industry raises $22 million
Startup Toric, a data management platform for construction and engineering players, has just raised $22 million, including $16 million from Autodesk. What’s so special about the platform? It enables anyone to integrate, transform, model and visualise data, without any knowledge of computer code.
Toric presents itself as a no-code platform, which allows construction companies to combine all the information relating to building design, project execution and financial information in one single place, offering more transparency and quicker decision making.
When it was founded in 2019, Toric raised $5.5 million in seed funding from Storm Ventures and several business angels, including Carl Bass, the former Autodesk CEO, who joined the startup’s board of directors. In 2021 during a Series A, an additional $10.5 million was raised, enabling Toric to accelerate its go-to-market strategy, develop partnerships and increase its data sources.
This new funding round will allow the startup to continue developing the solution’s features, while also strengthening links with Autodesk and its various products (Autodesk Construction Cloud, Revit, Navisworks and Civil 3D).
Building Ventures, a construction tech venture firm, launches a second investment vehicle endowed with 95 million dollars
Founded in Boston in 2017, the American investment fund Building Ventures has just closed its $95 million Fund II. Like its first fund, this one is designed to seed investment in construction and real estate tech startups.
More than two-thirds of the capital managed by Building Ventures comes from companies in the sector (design firms, developers, construction industry players) who are looking for innovative solutions for their business challenges. Startups funded by Building Ventures I include Dandelion (a geothermal company), Measurabl (ESG platform for commercial real estate), Canoa (a platform for sustainable office design) and Join.build (platform for pre-construction).
“Society has progressed to hold higher expectations for our built environments, from the quality and origin of materials used, to the overall environmental impact, from construction process to daily operation. We’re investing in the founders and technologies at every stage of the building cycle that are ultimately making spaces we use healthier, more practical and less wasteful,” explains Jesse Devitte, one of the firm’s co-founders.
Twenty start-ups should be financed by this new fund, which invests up to Series A. Three initial investments have already been announced: Animated Insights (digital twins for infrastructure), Extracker (stakeholder communication) and Skillit (recruitment).
There’s more…
Startup 91Squarefeet raises $10 million for its accelerated point-of-sale construction solution
Startup Azure prints tiny homes from recycled plastic in LA
Wavelogix receives first investment to develop IoT sensors for monitoring concrete production
