$10 trillion is spent on construction globally, with that number expected to double over the next 20 years. It's easy to see why. The world’s population is expected to rise to 9.2 billion, with the majority of this population urbanised by 2050. The World Economic Forum identifies infrastructure projects as central to “quality of life, social inclusion and economic opportunities.” Yet with rapid urbanisation, there is a large risk that infrastructure will not keep pace with the increased expectations of a growing population.
Yet the industry suffers from chronic low productivity. According to McKinsey, while overall productivity has risen by 30% since 1995 in the UK and Germany, productivity in the construction industry has risen by only 7%. The construction industry itself has been a very slow adopter of digital technology. In another study by McKinsey, large projects across all asset classes typically take 20 per cent longer to finish than scheduled and are often over 80% often budget. Simultaneously, the adoption of digital technology has been very low; the industry still predominantly uses manual, non-digital processes.
Today, we announce the we are leading a series C round of $40m in the leading construction mobile platform, FINALCAD.
The company enables construction companies to improve their operational efficiency through a mobile digital platform. Site engineers, Foremen, Architects, and Consultants can work together on their app, enabling collaboration across a wide variety of workflows both on site and at the office. Their app is not just a communication tool, but also enables users to work on drawings, BIM models, tasks, controls, safety procedures, and progress monitoring. FINALCAD can then provide insights and best practices at a company level, thanks to their analytics technology.
The software that FINALCAD is providing to leading construction firms such as Shimizu, Groupe Eiffage, and Vinci among others, will be a catalyst for change in an industry which is slow, expensive, and unproductive. With this injection of capital, FINALCAD can expand their SaaS product platform offering, supercharge their team, and empower their technology to create ever better solutions.
We are thrilled to welcome CEO, Jimmy Louchart and the fantastic team to the #Draperclan.