Buildots announces $30m Series B as it continues expansion
Buildots, the AI construction tech company, has announced a USD$30 million Series B round led by Lightspeed Ventures, with the participation of Buildots’ previous investors, TLV Partners, Future Energy Ventures, Tidhar Construction Group, and Maor Investments.
According to a statement by the firm, the investment will be used to double the size of the Buildots global team, with a focus on developing the sales and R&D departments.
Although construction currently accounts for 13% of the world’s GDP, and the employment of hundreds of millions of people, compared to other traditional industries – such as manufacturing – it still lags behind in productivity. According to the European Commission, productivity in the construction sector has remained almost stagnant, having increased by just 1% over the last two decades.
With operational profitability being only 5%, there is little room for error, the construction tech company’s founder pointed out.
“When it comes to digital transformation, construction has been a sleeping giant and Covid-19 served as an accelerator for the industry,” said Roy Danon, co-founder and CEO of Buildots. “We are now working with construction companies in over a dozen countries and what we’re seeing is that the challenges Buildots is addressing are ubiquitous around the world.
“A global expansion at the rate we’ve experienced would have ordinarily been impossible in an industry like construction that has its roots in handshake deals and in-person relationships without the new COVID reality of remote meetings and even deal signings.”
Danon highlighted that Buildots’ technology is being utilised to reduce costs and enhance outputs across a slew of construction projects being led by major building companies around the world. These include Build Group in California and Washington State, MBN in Germany, Gammon in Hong Kong, and Wates in the UK. He adds that there are several more announcements to come in the coming months.
“Construction is a massive market with real GDP impact, but it is still underserved by technology. We believe Buildots is the company that will change that reality,” added Tal Morgenstern, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
“They have created a truly unique technology, productised in a way that generates measurable ROI while still being simple enough for end-users to navigate seamlessly. The rapid adoption Buildots has seen to date is driven exclusively by word of mouth. Following that success, this financing round will support an aggressive growth plan going forward”.
Founded in 2018, Buildots aims to provide construction companies with an end-to-end solution that will allow project managers full control of every activity on the construction site. Its AI algorithms automatically validate images captured by hardhat-mounted 360° cameras, detecting any gaps between the original design, scheduling and the reality on the construction site.
The platform serves as a mobile control room for project managers, allowing them to make decisions that dramatically speed up construction and ultimately reduce costs.
“Buildots took on a mission that seemed impossible; to change the construction industry with artificial intelligence,” said Shahar Tzafrir, Managing Partner at TLV Partners.
“The construction industry is known for its low-profit margins and unfortunate delays. Buildots is changing that. Buildots’ success is demonstrated through its rapid growth with the world’s largest and most sophisticated construction companies. Their clients have achieved a significant increase in their profit margins and a dramatic decrease in project delays,” he concluded.
