Modulous, a Seattle and London-based construction tech startup, has raised $11.5 million in Series A funding, the company tells Axios.
Why it matters: The housing boom lit a spark under the construction tech space. Even though the market has cooled, the funding round shows that investors remain bullish, and the space remains competitive.
Details: Sustainable Future Ventures led the all-equity round, which values Modular at around $45 million, CEO Chris Bone tells Axios.
- Regal London, CEMEX Ventures, Blackhorn Ventures, GroundBreak Ventures, Goldacre and Leela Capital also participated in the round, which Bone says closed in August.
- As the round’s largest investors, SFV and Regal London both gained board seats in the deal.
Yes, and: Modular hired Sam Gioia, a former real estate design executive, to head up its manufacturing and assembly business.
How it works: Modular makes software for multifamily unit developers that manages design and cost lines for different projects by relying on pre-fab components with reliable cost and installation times.
- It contracts with suppliers to pre-build components of modular homes that construction groups can purchase via Modulous’ “Kit of Parts.” The components are manufactured off-site and transported to the project for assembly.
Between the lines: Modulous is a software middleman between manufacturers and construction or architecture groups that aren’t able to front the factory costs themselves.
What we’re watching: Inflation, borrowing costs, and supply constraints are slowing down real estate development.
- Bone says Modulous is currently working on seven projects with general contractors: four in the UK, two in the US and one in Canada.
- “Our aim with these projects is to prove the technical concept and demonstrate how the system can be scaled into any market with a demand for homes and a mature supply chain,” Bone says.
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