Construction Tech Startup Versatile Secures $80M in Series B Funding Round
The CraneView sensor hangs below the hook and features a load cell and camera. It wirelessly reports crane pick data back to the cloud, where data analytics provide regular updates on crane utilization.
Photo Courtesy of Gilbane Building Co.
Reflecting a growing interest from the investment community in emerging construction technologies, crane-mounted sensor and jobsite intelligence startup Versatile announced on Sept. 14 that it has secured $80 million in Series B funding. The funding round, led by Insight Partners with support from Tiger Global, comes on the heels of a $20 million Series A funding round secured in December 2020.
Versatile’s system is built around CraneView, a camera and sensor package that hangs off of a crane hook, just above the load. This wireless device serves as the data-gathering point for activity on the jobsite, tracking work progress and tempo based on crane lifts and cycles. Versatile uses this data to generate regular reports and updates for project team members, offering both fine-grained and high-level views into what is actually getting done on the jobsite.
The company has seen multiple successful pilot efforts with major contractors such as Turner Construction and Gilbane Building Co., and was named a 2020 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum last year. This rapid pace of investment in the company reflects a broader interest among investors in cultivating construction technology, says Meirav Oren, founder and CEO of Versatile. “This [latest funding round] is coming from a world where three years ago investors told us our industry was too slow to invest in technology. Now it's $100 million raised in eight months. That’s a testament to the worthiness of our industry.”
The Series B funding round also included investment from some of the participants in the Series A round last year, including Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH, Entrée Capital, Root Ventures, Conductive Ventures, and construction tech entrepreneurs Leigh Jasper and Rob Philpot. Also joining the Series B round were Tooey Courtemarche, founder and CEO of Procore, and Ralph Gootee, co-founder of PlanGrid.
“We are confident Versatile will be as common on the jobsite as the crane itself,” says Nikitas Koutoupes, managing director at Insight Partners and a board member at Versatile. “Further investment in its people-centered, seamless solutions is a meaningful boon for the industry—and what’s yet to come for construction technology.”
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