Exclusive: Building Ventures raises $95M for Fund II

Building Ventures, an early-stage venture firm focused on real estate and construction startups, raised $95 million for its second fund, the firm tells Axios.

Why it matters: The new Building Ventures fund is tapping LP interest from 25 corporate investors eager to finance early-stage construction and real estate startups, even as other sectors see investment interest taper off.

Details: The backing from 25 corporate investors — primarily design and construction companies — accounted for about two-thirds of the fund's total capital, Building Ventures general partner Jesse Devitte tells Axios.

• The fund will write $1.5 million to $3 million checks and target what general partner Travis Connors calls "sapling stage" companies that have more traction than typical seed-stage groups but still need to make critical hires or iron out a go-to-market strategy.

By the numbers: The two partners expect to invest in up to 20 companies, up from that of the previous fund.

• Building Ventures has already made five investments from Fund II, including Extracker, which creates change order software, and Skillit, a construction-crew-recruiting software startup, Devitte says.

Between the lines: Building Ventures is operating in a similar space to Fifth Wall, a massive real estate-focused venture firm that has recently expanded its thesis to include two dedicated climate funds. Connors and Devitte say they anticipate working with Fifth Wall in the future.