Pi Labs’ investment in Modulize
Modulize announced their Seed round today, which felt like the perfect time for us to share why we are a part of it. We are pleased to announce that Pi Labs is investing alongside Kompas, Antler, Investinor, Møller Eiendom and others in Modulize’s €1.9 million Seed round.
Background to our investment
As per a McKinsey Report, offsite construction can speed up construction as much as 50%, reduce cost by up to 20%, and potentially fill a productivity gap of $1.6 trillion in the global construction market.
When we looked at solving this massive productivity gap, it pointed us back to the increased adoption of offsite construction which is projected to grow to ~$135 billion by 2030 and provide ~$22 billion in annual cost savings. However, most solutions involved setting up manufacturing facilities and full-stack vertical integration. These are likely great companies but are highly capital intensive and difficult to scale globally (e.g. Katerra).
How did the investment come about
It is in our search to find a pure software solution for offsite construction that we discovered Modulize. They use machine learning to optimize the workflow for offsite manufacturers by automatically reading building design, generating take-off calculations and providing an instant quotation for procurement. In the long term, they will be a global marketplace for offsite manufacturers, general contractors, developers to transact transparently at scale.
🤝🏿 Source of intro: introduction took place via cold outreach.
An overview of the company
Industry — ConTech
Location — Oslo, Norway
Founding year — 2020
Problem — 40% of all waste and emissions globally come from the construction industry. Modular construction can tackle this but most modular manufacturers struggle with low efficiency due to slow and inaccurate cost estimation, bidding, project planning and element design.
Solution — Modulize is a single collaborative software solution for offsite construction, optimising design, planning and procurement.
Why we invested
At the heart of our decision is the team. Lucas, Håkon and Olav are exceptional founders who care deeply about the problem and complement each other well. When we met them, they had already built a diverse team of 8 rockstar engineers from 5 nationalities.
What’s next
They have a bold vision to dramatically change the way offsite construction is done, supported by a comprehensive product roadmap their 18 customers are excited about.
In a world full of offsite manufacturers cropping up, we believe there is space for a globally scalable SaaS solution to stand out and help reduce the $1.6 trillion productivity gap.
If you are an offsite manufacturer, real estate developer or general contractor looking to optimise your offsite construction and improve your ESG impact — please get in touch with the Modulize team here!
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