Venture Around the World – Trends in Venture Capital Impact How We Build

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In the early years of the past decade, the primary focus of tech investing had been in places like California, Boston, and New York. However, we are increasingly seeing a host of startups gaining major investment traction in other places around the world. As outlined in our Q1 Investment Report, two of the top three deals we tracked, were in companies based outside of the United States. In fact, US venture capital investment in US startups has slowly dropped over the last decades – with international startups receiving a larger slice of the pie. Per NVCA 2020 Yearbook, in 2004, 85% of total venture capital spending went to US startups. In 2019, that number dropped to 52%. What this change tells us is that there are far more opportunities to invest abroad.

Credit: Buildots

This trend has impacted the construction industry, too. Although reluctant to adopt technological changes, challenges surmounting from labor shortages, raw material price spikes, and increasing complexity regarding project scope are causing the industry to invest in hardware and software startups to improve productivity. Early adopters are experiencing the advantages of leveraging 21st-century technology in an industry slow to change.

Credit: Voyage Control
  • Buildots is a leading example of some of the innovation industry startups coming from around the world that are becoming more common. Based in Israel, Buildots is leveraging the capacity of a hardhat-mounted camera with state-of-the-art computer vision systems to track all onsite activities. Learn more about global startups and Buildots from our 2020 Venture Analyst Call below:
  • Autodesk’s $240M purchase of Spacemaker was the most significant recent global exit in our sector. Based in Norway, Spacemaker is a tech company leveraging AI to enable architects and developers to make data-driven decisions, continuously iterating on designs to explore the boundaries of what is possible.
  • Versatile is another international startup gaining attention, based in Israel. One of Versatile’s integrated hardware/software solutions is called CraneView – using an attached device to the construction crane hook to measure material loads and rigging times.
  • Bridgit is another international startup making waves within the construction world. Based in Canada, Bridgit is a software company that develops mobile and cloud solutions for construction – primarily focusing on construction resource management to simplify project planning.

  •  Voyage Control, based in England, is revolutionizing how construction jobsites are managing scheduling and deliveries. The software delivers digital schedules updated in real-time – better to align crane and forklift activities with site deliveries so that the appropriate resources are available when deliveries arrive. Watch BuiltWorlds’ 2020 Voyage Control Demo Day below:
  • Assignar, based in Australia, is using their field and jobsite experience to take operations to the next level. It is an ecosystem that allows contractors to schedule crews, manage compliance, ensure quality, and monitor progress – all from a single platform.

As more international startups enter the construction industry space, more and more US contractors will benefit from having a plethora of international perspectives on how construction and build efficiencies can be improved. Learn more about how BuiltWorlds cultivates an ecosystem for early adopters and startups so they can benefit from learning how technology is disrupting how we build.