More than $30 billion in total venture capital funding raised for construction tech since 2014
Foundamental, an investment fund specialising in financing startups in the architecture, engineering and construction sectors, has just published a study on the state of the construction tech market worldwide.
The Berlin-based fund used data collected by the Tracxn concerning funds raised by startups in the sector. The main takeaway? Since 2014, construction tech has amassed more than $30 billion in funding – once the particular case of Katerra is excluded, the American startup which raised $2 billion before monumentously going bankrupt in 2021.
Another key takeaway: over the past nine years, at least 17 companies in the sector have reached unicorn status, meaning they have been valued at more than $1 billion. The year 2021 saw funding peak, with $8.7 billion raised in one year – an annual amount never seen before or since.
Above all, Foundamental concludes its study by emphasizing that the construction tech market is “anti-cyclical” compared to the entire venture capital market: while overall investments have contracted, with a 36% drop between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2023, funding for tech construction startups increased by 7% over this period.
French start-up Vizcab, specializing in construction materials carbon calculation, raises €5 million
After raising a total of €2.8 million over two funding rounds in 2020 and 2021 (with participation from Banque des territoires and A/O PropTech fund), the Lyon-based startup Vizcab has just raised an additional €5 million. Its new investors include Kompas VC, Rise PropTech Fund, Cemex Venture and Altur Investissement.
Launched in 2015 under the name Combo Solutions, this spin-off from the EPFL in Lausanne specializes in carbon accounting for buildings. Its tool, which integrates artificial intelligence and data science models, can estimate the carbon impact of a project from its conception. The startup currently has 150 clients (developers, architects, design studios, general contractors) and is targeting 500 by the end of 2024. Its growth will involve increasing its international presence, as the company intends to cover five to eight countries outside of France and Switzerland in the next five years.
What’s more, Vizcab received support from our 2020 Catalyst program and was one of the winners of the seventh edition of our Construction Startup Competition, in autumn 2023.
Néolithe raises €60 million to transform household waste into construction materials
Since 2019, Néolithe, a startup based in Angers, has been developing an innovative process to transform waste into aggregates. After grinding, PVC, wood, textiles, insulation and plasterboard can undergo an accelerated “fossilization” process, to be used for making concrete or roads. At the moment, this material can be used for non-structural concrete, but the startup intends to eventually find applications in all types of concrete.
After setting up their first plant with a capacity of just over 10,000 tons per year on the outskirts of Angers, Néolithe intends to deploy processing plants that are ten times larger, which can treat directly residual household waste. The first plant is likely to be up and running in the Maine-et-Loire department within two years.
To support these ambitions and accelerate its R&D, the startup, which already raised €20 million in 2022, has just announced it secured a new €60 million funding round, with investments from Otium Capital – a previous investor in 2022, Crédit Mutuel Impact, Tivoli Capital and RGreen Invest.
There’s more:
Simply Home raises $22 million to use AI to solve social housing – read more on Techcrunch
Spanish startup Strong by Form raises $5.2 million to replace concrete with wood in construction – read more on TechFundingNews
French startup Mylight150 raises €100 million for its smart solar energy management solutions – read more on Usine Digitale
Indonesian startup Gravel raises $14 million to digitalize the construction sector – read more on Techcrunch
Caterpillar invests in startup Nth Cycle to develop metal recycling sector – read more on Reuters
US startup ClimateCrete raises $3.3 million for its low-carbon cements – read more on
German startup Ecoworks raises €40 million to use AI and robotics to retrofit buildings – read more on Techcrunch
US startup Machinery Partner raises $11 million for its construction equipment marketplace – read more on Business Wire
