Exclusive: Concrete-mix startup hauls in $4M seed round
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
AICrete, a startup focused on concrete mix, raised $4 million in seed funding, the company exclusively tells Axios.
Why it matters: The company seeks to streamline and automate concrete production, a process that still requires manual labor and DIY techniques and requires fossil fuels and other environmentally unfriendly materials.
Details: Clear Ventures and VoLo Earth co-led the all-equity round and will join AICrete's board of directors. The round valued AICrete at $15.5 million post-money, CEO Parham Aghdasi said.
- Cortical Ventures also participated in the round and received an observer seat on AICrete's board.
How it works: AICrete's software recommends concrete mix recipes to producers based on locally available materials and whether they are low in emissions.
State of play: Concrete production remains difficult to decarbonize. AICrete isn't alone in trying to address the issue.
- CarbonCure, an Amazon-backed company, injects captured carbon dioxide into concrete mix using a small tool in existing plants.
- Rondo Energy, meanwhile, seeks to electrify the industrial heating processes that go into concrete production. It's also partnered with other cement makers to develop a calcine clay that replaces limestone.
The bottom line: Concrete-making is a $617 billion industry that accounts for up to 8% of global emissions from humans.