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Construction tech (2024)

Can these startups raise the roof?

Last updated: 17 Oct 2024

Market 101

Construction tech’s a slow build.

Advances have, by and large, eluded the industry, which has the unwanted reputation of having the lowest productivity gains of any industry, according to McKinsey. The industry accounts for 9% of European GDP but it’s also one of the least digitised, with almost stagnant productivity over the past two decades.

With operational profitability hovering around 5% among Europe’s construction giants, it leaves little room for error when experimenting with new tech. This helps explain why the market is slow to develop — and why VC funding for construction-focused startups this year is hardly of the “hold the front page” kind.

With one exception. In early October, Vienna-based Gropyus, a company specialised in pre-fabricated timber buildings that promises all kinds of automated tricks to squeeze costs, announced a €100m raise, which followed a €40m debt financing deal with the European Investment Bank in March (the company, which is fairly hauling the VC dollars in, also raised €100m in 2023). One investor says Gropyus’ smart, assembly-line factories could turn it into “the Tesla of construction”.

Before this, the biggest deal of 2024 was €40m for Hannover-based Hero Software, which has developed a software tool for tradesmen in German-speaking Europe. We also saw €26m raised for French startup Matterrup’s vision to develop low-carbon cement — this stuff generates as much CO2 as India — while Dutch startup Monumental raised $25m for its brick-laying robots (more to come on these below).

Early stage market map

Deals

Key facts

16 minutes

is how long Gropyus says it will take to develop pre-fabricated housing units1

1%

is construction’s meagre productivity gain over the past two decades2

10.9%

is how much construction contributes to European GDP3

Trends to watch

  1. Builder bots trundle closer

    Building sites don’t seem like places robots can thrive in — they’re rough terrain, not sleek bump-free warehouses.

    But Monumental thinks it’s on to something with its brick-laying robots. A key trick, for them, is to give these bots really thick wheels capable of navigating lumpy sites.

    Also important: having skilled people on hand to operate these things. Sites can hire Monumental as a subcontractor, which removes some financial risk to contractors, who don’t have to buy these bots.

    Firat Ileri, a partner at Hummingbird, one of the VCs that backed Monumental, offers another reason to back builder bots: “the technology has the potential to attract more talent into the field.”

    But like any tech field, there will be losers too. The UK’s Hypertunnel, which had hoped to develop a “world’s first” robot-built tunnel, fell into administration this summer due to mounting debts.

  2. Can one factory build 4,000 flats a year?

    One word investors love to hear from founders is “modular”, which instantly conjures up images of cost efficiencies and scale.

    Gropyus is building a factory that promises to go big on the modular — it wants to produce wall and ceiling elements, for example, in 16 minutes flat — a process that will be 86% automated, one investor says.

    Its factory — currently in development — will target output of 250k square metres a year, equivalent to around 4,000 one-bed apartments.

    Investors are all in, having awarded the company roughly €300m in five years. It sounds like a tall ambition but there’s no doubt Europe needs to build more houses, and quickly, with demand greatly outstripping supply in countries like Ireland and Spain.

  3. Will long bets pay off?

    The foundations are being laid for ideas that could transform construction in the long run.

    Matterrup is one of a number of companies developing green cement; Sweden’s Stegra — previously known as H2 Green Steel — is developing greener (you guessed it) steel.

    These races have a way to run — go-to-market timelines are long and the key factor will be who can scale production fastest and cheapest.

Startups tracked by Sifted

Sifted take

The suspense is building for construction to catch up on tech. And, for sure, there’s plenty of waste and inefficiency on construction sites that software, data and devices are well-suited to eliminate. Expect to see more AI and machine learning approaches in construction to help with scouring pictures of facades to identify defects; helping would-be homeowners design their dream house with a series of prompts; examining public tenders to see which are the most realistic for your company to bid on; and probing project plans to identify risks. But hold on to your hardhats: don’t expect all the startups featured here to nail delivery, as the newest stuff — from brickie robots to green materials — is probably only affordable right now to a narrow slice of elite contractors.

Rising stars

Aeditive

3D printing

Total funding

€9.5m

Hamburg, Germany
2019

3D prints concrete parts.

Round

Seed

Valuation

Undisclosed

Date

2021

Size

€7.5m

BKwai

Data Insights

Total funding

€3.1m

London, United Kingdom
2019

The company uses satellite data to map site movements and see trends over time (in mm scale). This information, the company says, can be used by engineers to spot and address issues before they become problems.

Round

Seed

Valuation

Undisclosed

Date

2022

Size

€2.6m

oculai

Data insights

Total funding

€2.5m

Munich, Germany
2021

The startup uses crane cameras which record all processes and automatically compares them with the work schedule.

Round

Seed

Valuation

Undisclosed

Date

2023

Size

€2.5m

Builderz

Modelling software

Total funding

€3.8m

Paris, France
2016

The French startup uses modelling software to visualise environmental and urban impacts from the start of a construction.

Round

Seed

Valuation

Undisclosed

Date

2022

Size

€3.8m

Early stage startups to watch

011h

Barcelona, Spain
2020
 Series A

€33m

€25m

-

AISTI

Jyväskylä, Finland
2019
 Series A

€22.4m

€5.2m

-

Albotherm

Bristol, UK
2020
 Angel

€3.3m

€1.4m

-

Alcemy

Berlin, Germany
2018
 Series A

€24m

€9.6m

-

Alrik

Stockholm, Sweden
2024
 Pre-seed

€4.3m

€1m

-

Amutri

Falmouth, United Kingdom
2020
 Seed

€560k

-

-

Aphex

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Seed

€1.8m

€1.8m

-

Asap Work

Paris, France
2021
 Seed

€5m

€5m

-

Automated Architecture

Bristol, United Kingdom
2019
 Seed

€3.1m

€3.1m

-

Axle Energy

London, United Kingdom
2023
 Seed

€9.6m

€8.2m

-

Beem energy

Nantes, France
2018
 Series A

€29m

€20m

-

Bettering Our Worlds (BOW) Ltd

Sheffield, UK
2020
 Seed

€5.3m

€4.7m

-

bex

Stuttgart, Germany
2019
 Early VC

€7.4m

€5.6m

-

billdin

Valencia, Spain
2020
 Seed

€430k

€430k

-

BinderLess

Warsaw, Poland
2021
 Grant

€230k

€230k

-

Biozeroc

Cambridge, United Kingdom
2021
 Seed

€5.5m

€4.5m

-

Bisly

Tallinn, Estonia
2018
 Series A

€11.5m

€6.2m

-

Build2B

Pantin, France
2019
 Seed

€1.3m

€1.3m

-

buildbuild

Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2021
 Pre-seed

€2.8m

€1.1m

-

BuildPartner

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Early VC

€760k

€380k

-

Bullswap BVBA

Genk, Belgium
2018
 Seed

€2.1m

€1.4m

-

Carbon Crusher

Oslo, Norway
2021
 Seed

€100k

€100k

-

Carbon Re

London, United Kingdom
2020
 Grant

€6.7m

€160k

-

Carbonaide

Joensuu, Finland
2022
 Pre-seed

€1.8m

€1.8m

-

CemVision

Stockholm, Sweden
2019
 Seed

€14m

€10m

-

Chainable

Gilze, Netherlands
2020
 Seed

€1.4m

€1.4m

-

CLEANROOM ITALIA

Lomagna, Italy
2018
 Grant

€50k

€50k

-

COBOD

Copenhagen, Denmark
2018
 Early VC

-

-

-

Cocoon

London, United Kingdom
2023
 Seed

€4.9m

€4.9m

-

Compa

Berlin, Germany
2020
 Seed

€7m

€4.2m

-

comstruct

Munich, Germany
2022
 Early VC

€1.2m

-

-

Concrete4Change

Nottingham, United kingdom
2021
 Seed

€6m

€3m

€12m

Concretene

Manchester, United Kingdom
2022
 Seed

€10.1m

€3.5m

-

Concular

Berlin, Germany
2020
 Seed

€3.2m

€850k

-

Conneqtr

Woluwe-Saint-Pierre - Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, Belgium
2021
 Seed

-

-

-

Consigli

Oslo, Norway
2020
 Grant

€5.4m

€880k

-

Contilio

London, UK
2020
 Seed

€4.5m

€1.2m

-

Continuum Industries

Edinburgh, United Kingdom
2018
 Series A

€14.2m

€9.1m

-

Conxai Technologies GmbH

Karlsfeld, Germany
2020
 Seed

€4.7m

€2m

-

Crafthunt

Schleswig, Germany
2022
 Seed

€3m

€3m

-

Cubicup

Valencia, Spain
2018
 Seed

€3m

€1m

-

DABBEL

Düsseldorf, Germany
2018
 Early VC

€3.6m

€3.6m

-

DataForm Lab

London, UK
2018
 Seed

€1.3m

€1.3m

-

Didimi

Cambridge, United Kingdom
2023
 Seed

€880k

€880k

-

Digando.com

Dornbirn, Austria
2019
 Seed

-

-

-

Digital Spine

Berlin, Germany
2020
 Early VC

-

-

-

DigitalTwin Technology

Cologne, Germany
2018
 Grant

€130k

€130k

-

Dnergy

Brussels, Belgium
2019
 Early VC

€9.5m

€8m

-

ecoLocked

Berlin, Germany
2021
 Seed

€5.8m

€4m

-

Ecoworks

Berlin, Germany
2018
 Early VC

€79.6m

€40m

-

Emidat

Germany
2023
 Seed

€1m

€1m

-

Emitwise

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Series A

€15.1m

€9.1m

-

FenX

Turgi, Switzerland
2019
 Seed

€5m

€2.2m

-

Finch 3D

Malmö , Sweden
2024
 Seed

€3m

€2.5m

-

Fondion

Espoo, Finland
2020
 Early VC

€3m

€3m

-

Graneet

Paris, France
2020
 Series A

€10.4m

€8m

-

Haaven

Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2023
 Pre-seed

€1.1m

€1.1m

-

hesti

United Kingdom
2022
 Seed

€270k

€180k

-

Hustro

Wroclaw, Poland
2019
 Seed

€1.2m

€450k

-

Hyperion Robotics

Espoo, Finland
2019
 Early VC

€3.4m

-

-

KEWAZO

Munich, Germany
2018
 Series A

€18.4m

€10m

-

kodehyve

Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2020
 Seed

€5.3m

€2.6m

-

laiout

Oslo, Norway
2021
 Pre-seed

€2.4m

€750k

-

Lance Free

Rotterdam, Netherlands
2020
 Early VC

-

-

-

Le Pavé

Aubervilliers, France
2018
 Early VC

€4m

€4m

-

Leasi

Trondheim, Norway
2022
 Seed

€1.1m

€1.1m

-

LiveCosts

Dublin, Ireland
2018
 Early VC

-

-

-

Low Carbon Materials (LCM)

Seaham, United Kingdom
2019
 Early VC

€5.9m

€3.6m

-

Materrup

Saint-Geours-de-Maremne, France
2018
 Series A

€29.9m

€26m

-

MESH AG

Zurich, Switzerland
2022
 Early VC

-

-

-

Metroc

Helsinki, Finland
2019
 Seed

€2.3m

€2m

-

Modulize

Oslo, Norway
2020
 Seed

€2.4m

€1.9m

-

Modulous

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Series A

€18m

€12m

-

Monumental

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2021
 Early VC

€22.7m

€22.7m

-

My Digital Buildings

Grenoble, France
2019
 Angel

€1.2m

€1.2m

-

MyAedes

Rome, Italy
2019
 Seed

€990k

€590k

-

Nanogence

Renens, Switzerland
2018
 Series A

€15.9m

€10.9m

-

NavLive

Oxford, United Kingdom
2022
 Support Program

-

-

-

Nodes & Links

Maidstone, United Kingdom
2018
 Support Program

€10m

-

-

Obralink

United Kingdom
2019
 Early VC

€4.1m

€1.8m

-

Oculai

Munich, Germany
2021
 Seed

€2.5m

€2.5m

-

Oxara

Dietikon, Switzerland
2018
 Seed

€1.7m

€1.3m

-

Paebbl

HQ - Stockholm R&D - Rotterdam, HQ- Sweden. Most employees - Netherlands
2021
 Series A

€31m

€23m

-

Plancraft

Hamburg, Germany
2020
 Series A

€14.1m

€12m

-

Preoptima

Cambridge, United Kingdom
2022
 Pre-seed

€1.6m

€1.2m

-

ProperGate

Warsaw, Poland
2018
 Early VC

€1.5m

€250k

-

Qualis Flow

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Early VC

€11.3m

€8.6m

-

Remato

Tartu, Estonia
2018
 Seed

€2.1m

€1.5m

-

Rematter

Zug, Switzerland
2022
 Grant

€1.4m

€400k

-

Saferock.

Sola, Norway
2019
 Early VC

€4.1m

€4.1m

-

Samp

Paris, France
2019
 Series A

€10m

€6m

-

Schüttflix

Gütersloh, Germany
2018
 Early VC

€75.7m

€22.5m

-

Sirken

Stjørdal, Norway
2020
 Seed

€920k

€880k

-

Smart Steel Technologies

Berlin, Germany
2019
 Early VC

€2.1m

-

-

SPECTER Automation

Cologne, Germany
2021
 Seed

€3m

€2.7m

-

stockpro

Paris, France
2018
 Early VC

€4m

€4m

-

syniotec

Bremen, Germany
2018
 Seed

€3.7m

€3.7m

-

Teamoty

Morestel, France
2018
 Series A

€3m

€3m

-

TechnoCarbon

Paris, France
2018
 Grant

€2.9m

€500k

-

The Build Chain

Doncaster, United Kingdom
2020
 Growth Equity VC

€4.1m

€2m

-

Thermulon

London, United Kingdom
2019
 Grant

€1.3m

€830k

-

Timberhub

Amsterdam, Netherlands
2022
 Seed

€7.3m

€5.8m

-

Vanilla Steel

Berlin, Germany
2020
 Seed

€3.7m

€3.6m

-

VERTLINER

Athens, Greece
2020
 Grant

-

-

-

Vestack

Paris, France
2019
 Early VC

€15.2m

€10m

-

Vizcab

Lyon, France
2020
 Series A

€12.3m

€4.5m

-

Werk

Tallinn, Estonia
2020
 Grant

€1.2m

€30k

-

Woodea

Valencia, Spain
2022
 Seed

€1.4m

€1.4m

-

YapıRadar

Istanbul, Türkiye
2018
 Seed

€1.8m

€1.7m

-

YardLink

London, United Kingdom
2018
 Series A

€18.9m

€15.9m

-

Zupply

Copenhagen, Denmark
2021
 Seed

€100k

€100k

-

Europe’s success stories

Who early stage startups are up against

PlanRadar

(Pre-)Seed

SeriesA

SeriesB

SeriesC

SeriesD+

IPO/Exit

Vienna-based company offering a SaaS platform for the entire building lifecycle. It raised €60.9m from investors including Insight Partners and Cavalry Ventures in January 2022, taking its total funding to €101m. It also counts GR Capital, PropTech1 Ventures, Berliner Volksbank Ventures, Russmedia Equity Partners as its investors.

Alasco

(Pre-)Seed

SeriesA

SeriesB

SeriesC

SeriesD+

IPO/Exit

The German company offers a workflow management platform for the construction industry that also aids users with ESG management and decarbonisation tracking. Its latest €35m Series B round in December 2021 was led by names such as HV Capital, Insight Partners and Lightrock, and took its total funding to €49m.

Sources

Data sources

Sifted | Proprietary data

Dealroom.co | 

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