Modulize secures cash injection for offsite construction platform

Oslo-based software startup, Modulize, aims to make the building sector more sustainable by facilitating offsite manufacturers and their customers through automated building analysis, calculation, and design to better harness the benefits of offsite construction.

Their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed, and it’s caught the attention of Danish early-stage venture capital firm Kompas. Funding partner’s also include: Europe’s first VC firm UK-based Pi Labs, Norwegian real estate developer Møller Eiendom, Norwegian-based evergreen venture capital firm Investinor and global early-stage venture capital firm Antler.

A total of a €1.9 million (AUD$2.8 million) was raised, and they’ll use those funds to develop their offsite construction platform, grow the existing organisation and expand into different European markets.

Modulize was founded by Lucas Carstens, Olav Ljosland and Håkon Kalbakk in November 2020 in Oslo, and its first product – focused on cost estimation and bidding – is already deployed and available for users. 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 accurately price a quote for a contractor.

The company’s longer-term ambition is 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.

Their business case is further strengthened from the increasing adoption of digital workflow solutions by the construction industry, and the need of developers, architects and offsite manufacturers to collaborate on a single platform in real time.

ABOVE: Lucas Carstens, CEO, Modulize.

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 adopt this approach. The investment we’ve received will enable us to recruit talent, improve our products, expand our offering and reduce the environmental impact of the sector.”

Sebastian Peck, Partner, 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.”

See: www.modulize.io
See: www.kompas.vc

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