![]() ![]() A reader, who asked to remain anonymous, wrote back with an interesting point regarding this trade off: “This became quite prevalent in 1999 and of course ended when dot.com crashed. WARNING SIGNS? Yesterday, I wrote of how Fanatics managed to unpend Topps’ 70-year partnership to produce MLB trading cards effectively by offering equity to the sports leagues. Meaning it’ll be worth watching the players in the space. Still, regardless of this odd time in funding, it remains true that construction is a massive industry. Capital is everywhere and investors seem willing to take risks. There’s also perhaps a less savory factor too in the mix: It’s a frothy environment where unicorns are being minted daily. I also can’t help but wonder to what extent Marc Andreessen’s all too famous early pandemic essay, “ It’s time to build,” left a thought in the minds of the investors who read it. Meanwhile, soaring home prices have created a market for startups in the rent-to-own and mortgage spaces as well as in lowering the cost of building itself. But recent shifts in the economy have also brought the need for tech to the fore: Stay-at-home orders and supply chain disruptions have increased the need for technology around coordination. Incumbents also remain largely behind when it comes to tech. but investors still appear to be sinking their teeth into tech for the space.Ĭertainly there are a number of factors why: Construction is a trillion-dollar-plus industry, making it a huge potential opportunity for new entrants (home construction company Lennar for example is worth $32 billion). Katerra went sideways for very good reasons - the construction industry is complex, building is costly and cash-burn intensive, making it difficult to match with a move-fast hyperscaling model, etc. The round comes a few months after another 3D-printed home startup, Mighty Buildings, raised $40 million in Series B funding, and a handful of companies building housing in backyards like Abodu have also attracted millions. Others in the round included 8VC, BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, BOND, Citi, Crosstimbers, Ensemble, Fifth Wall, LENx, Moderne Ventures, and Oakhouse Partners. On Tuesday, ICON Technology, an Austin-based startup using 3D printing in construction, raised $207 million in Series B funding led by Norwest Ventures. The high profile death of Katerra, a construction tech startup that aimed to slice and dice the cost of building, has not deterred investors from funding the space, it seems. ![]()
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