Modulize, an Oslo-based offsite construction platform, announced that it has raised €1.9M in a seed funding round led by KOMPAS. Other investors, including Pi Labs, Investinor, real estate developer Møller Eiendom, and Antler, also participated.
The funding will enable the Norwegian company to develop its product and accelerate its expansion into different European markets.
What does Modulize solve?
The construction industry is collectively responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions. As a result, there is a significant demand for more sustainable building methods.
However, an ever-growing housing deficit, skilled labour shortages for onsite construction, and diminishing housing affordability have put pressure on the sector to innovate.
The increasing technological maturity of prefabricated buildings, as well as the application of new technologies, are converging with sustainability to accelerating the growth of offsite construction, which can reduce construction waste by as much as 90%, claims the company.
Lucas Carstens, CEO at Modulize says, “Onsite construction is prone to over-ordering materials to avoid delaying the building works, but this inevitably leads to waste – having the various building elements produced in a factory avoids this and allows for more efficient use of materials. Offsite construction has been proven to be faster and cheaper while producing far less waste. Our work aims to provide a foundation for the entire construction ecosystem to take this approach. The investment we’ve received will enable us to grow, improve our offering and reduce the environmental impact of the sector.”
Platform for offsite construction
Founded by Lucas Carstens, Olav Ljosland, and Håkon Kalbakk in 2020, Modulize is building a platform for offsite construction. The company’s cloud-based software supports cost estimation and bidding, project planning, and building design itemisation.
As per the company, the first product which is available for users already focuses on cost estimation and bidding.
The platform automates calculations from 2D drawings and 3D building models that are imported, rendered, and analysed to extract all the information a manufacturer needs to quote a price for a contractor.
The company is on a mission to serve other market participants, such as architects and developers, by optimising building plans for offsite construction through to design, and connecting contractors directly to the right manufacturers.
Currently, the company Modulize employs 12 people with expertise in AI, SaaS, and international business.
Investors
Based out of Copenhagen, KOMPAS is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in innovations that accelerate digital transformation and industrial automation.
The VC supports the creation of a more sustainable economy by backing innovative engineering solutions that dramatically reduce waste and CO2 emissions.
The company has offices in Amsterdam and Tel Aviv. Fund I ($160M) backs Seed and Series A companies across Europe, Israel, and North America.
Sebastian Peck, Partner at KOMPAS says, “The fundamental reason underpinning our investment in Modulize is due to the highly fragmented nature of the offsite construction industry. The current landscape provides ideal conditions to develop a solution that automates key business processes, supporting the sector in its digital transformation and making the industry more efficient. Offsite construction methods have been shown to be significantly more sustainable than traditional onsite construction. The adoption of digital technology by the sector supports much greater versatility in building design, a higher degree of automation in the manufacturing process, and more efficient back-office processes. Modulize is extremely well-placed to benefit from these trends and we look forward to seeing their growth.”
