Construction tech startup Modulous raises $11.5M

Modulous, a Seattle- and London-based construction tech startup, has raised $11.5 million in Series A funding, the company tells Axios.

Why it matters: The housing boom lit a spark under the construction tech space. Even though that market has cooled, the funding round shows that investors remain bullish and the space remains competitive.

Details: Sustainable Future Ventures led the all-equity round, which values Modulous at around $45 million, CEO Chris Bone tells Axios.

• Regal London, Cemex Ventures, Blackhorn Ventures, GroundBreak Ventures, Goldacre and Leela Capital also participated in the round, which Bone says closed in August.
• As the round's largest investors, SFV and Regal London both gained board seats in the deal.

Yes, and: Modulous hired Sam Gioia, a former real estate design executive, to head up its manufacturing and assembly business.

How it works: Modulous makes software for multifamily-unit developers that manages design and cost lines for different projects by relying on pre-fab components with reliable cost and installation times.

• It contracts with suppliers to pre-build components of modular homes that construction groups can purchase via Modulous' "Kit of Parts." The components are manufactured off-site and transported to the project for assembly.

Of note: Modulous is a software middleman between manufacturers and construction or architecture groups that aren't able to front the factory costs themselves.

What we're watching: Inflation, borrowing costs and supply constraints are slowing down real estate development.

• Bone says Modulous is currently working on seven projects with general contractors: four in the U.K., two in the U.S. and one in Canada.
• "Our aim with these projects is to prove technical concept and demonstrate how the system can be scaled into any market with a demand for homes and a mature supply chain," Bone says.