The new ‘Series B’ round of funding is led by Lightspeed Ventures with the participation of Buildots’ previous investors: TLV Partners, Future Energy Ventures and Tidhar Construction Group. Series B funding is used by start-ups to expand market reach beyond the initial development stage.
The company had secured £12m in funding last year. Its AI computer vision has now reached 12 countries; it is being used on major projects in the US, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Hong Kong and elsewhere.
“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.”
Buildots' AI algorithms validate images captured by hardhat-mounted 360° cameras, detecting any gaps between the original design, scheduling and the reality on the construction site.
Tal Morgenstern, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, said: “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.” He said that the company has created a unique technology that generates measurable return on investment 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,” he said. “Following that success, this financing round will support an aggressive growth plan going forward.”
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