Austrian construction software vendor PlanRadar has secured €30m in Series A funding from investors, and plans to expand.
The deal marks a trend of increasing investment in construction technology as investors bet that the industry will embrace digital techniques to boost productivity.
McKinsey calculates that construction technology firms enjoyed $10bn worth of investment between 2011 and early 2017.
Supporting PlanRadar in the latest round are Insight Partners, headquartered in New York, who led the investment round, with e.ventures. Existing investors Cavalry Ventures, Berliner Volksbank Ventures and aws Gründerfonds also chipped in.
Insight has targeted the project management software market, having invested Primavera, which was subsequently acquired by Oracle, the business tech giant zeroing in on construction.
Launched in 2013, Vienna-headquartered PlanRadar develops digital documentation and communication software. It says it has 7,000 customers in 43 countries.Â
Customers include contractors Strabag, Bilfinger and Bouygues, and property companies CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield.
Thomas Krane, Principal at Insight Partners, said: "As the world of construction and property management undergoes a fundamental shift toward a digital future, PlanRadar has become a trusted partner in the industry, enabling their customers to build better buildings and ensure infrastructure works are on time and on budget."
Sander van de Rijdt, Co-CEO and co-founder of PlanRadar said: "We’ve dedicated our work to digitising an industry that remains overly reliant on pen and paper. 70% of our users’ report moving to PlanRadar from offline data collection. The sector has always suffered a reluctance to modernise on-the-ground communication, so an investment like this from such renowned investors is an indication of real belief in what we’ve created with PlanRadar."
Stefan Walter, Managing Partner of Cavalry, said: "The digitalisation of the construction industry has gained enormous momentum in recent years. As a pioneer in the German-speaking markets, PlanRadar is ideally positioned to meet the high demand of international clients."
Image: Construction technology firms enjoyed $10bn worth of investment between 2011 and early 2017, according to McKinsey (Tsyhun/Dreamstime)
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