Modulous is a London-based digital construction firm that uses a software platform to design, manufacture and deliver sustainable affordable housing schemes across the UK. Now, a global venture capital trio has invested £5 million into this British company.
Investment led by VC trio
The investment round was led by Blackhorn Ventures, a cutting-edge US fund with around $200 million under management in early-stage construction, transport, and energy firms. The other VCs that took part in the funding round include the venture arm of the multi-billion dollar materials titan CEMEX and Toronto-based proptech investor GroundBreak. Notably, the deal represents the second round of investment from Blackhorn Ventures and CEMEX Ventures.
The funds will help the company expand its building design team and grow its technology group to accelerate the evolution of its software platform to exploit digital technology in a bid to make delivering homes better in every way.
Chris Bone, chief executive (CEO) of Modulous said “Our digitally-led approach to project management and innovative ‘kit of parts’ platform delivers sustainable, high-quality housing at a fraction of the time of traditional construction. Modulous provides partners with the end-to-end tools necessary to accurately estimate project costs, compress programme timescales and mitigate against the risks inherent in planning, design and implementation.”
Phillip O’Connor, managing partner and co-founder at Blackhorn Ventures said: “This is about far more than modular housing. The opportunity here with the suite of products Modulous is developing is to create a standard akin to Pro Tools which can orchestrate and produce all elements of the housing process. Technology will not replace the many talented architects, engineers and construction workers – but simply enable them to focus on what they do best, making their jobs more profitable and enjoyable.”
Mateo Zimmerman, investment manager at CEMEX Ventures said: “We have to put Industrialized Construction and MMC at the heart of design, manufacturing, logistics and assembly. The change to a “product mindset” (instead of project mindset) will open up many opportunities and benefits for our industry, such as efficiency, climate action and sustainable profitability. Modulous is offering an unrivaled value proposition based on technology, flexibility and scalability.“
Scott Kaplanis, partner at GroundBreak Ventures said: “The scalability of the Modulous suite of products is vast and its ability to work with governments around the world to help solve global challenges of creating and delivering sustainable and affordable housing means we see a huge opportunity to grow the firm and support local construction firms and supply chains.”
Modular building system
Modulous was established by Chris Bone, Chris Mortensen, Markus Cosmann, Reimell Ragnauth, and Romill Bettany in 2018. Unlike other companies that exploit modern methods of construction (MMC), Modulous works sans any factories. The company’s global supply chain and its investment in logistics will enable it to become more scalable and more responsive to the cyclical nature of housebuilding.
The software platform developed by Modulous streamlines design and overhauls the inefficient logistics that weigh down the construction sector. Alongside its software platform, Modulous has developed a precision-engineered apartment product that enables high-quality, affordable, and sustainable homes to be computer-designed and delivered to a specific cost.
Modulous’ design software platform combines its own modular building system. This enables developers and housing associations to specify the sort of building they want, harvest local planning regulations to determine what is permitted and quickly generate designs that accurately detail the precise cost. The reason is that each building component is mapped within the system so that it is possible to monitor and measure the carbon footprint of every single building on a mass scale.
The post This construction startup from London is building sustainable and affordable housing across the UK appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).
