KEWAZO GmbH today announced the closing of its $10 million Series A round, bringing its total funds raised to date to about $20 million. The Munich, Germany-based company said it plans to use the financing to expand its fleet of construction robots.
“We have an excellent group of partners coming together that will enable us to keep building a leading company in construction robotics,” stated Artem Kuchukov, co-founder and CEO of KEWAZO. “This influx of capital will propel us to expand our robotic fleet across Europe and North America, in tandem with enabling us to build out additional digital services.”
KEWAZO said it is digitizing construction with material flow automation and data analytics. The company added that by integrating its LIFTBOT robotic hoist with the ONSITE analytics platform, it can provide customers with high levels of transparency and improve project management.
KEWAZO first focuses on scaffolding assembly
KEWAZO initially focused on scaffolding assembly, a $50 billion industry in which more than 80% of projects are still undertaken completely manually. The company developed LIFTBOT, which it claimed can now save 70% of man-hours.
Not only can LIFTBOT address critical labor shortages in construction, but it can also reduce the risk of accidents and improve overall working conditions, said KEWAZO.
As it is involved critical on-site activities, LIFTBOT collects key operational data, noted the company. This data is then processed and provided to customers as actionable insights via ONSITE.
The platform provides visibility into what is happening at construction sites and industrial plants, offering data-driven and proactive project management, KEWAZO said.
European builders use LIFTBOT
Since 2021, a dozen LIFTBOTs have been active in European construction sites and leading industrial plants in the oil, gas, energy, and chemical industries. KEWAZO's customers include industry players such as Bilfinger & Altrad.
“I think it is very useful that companies like KEWAZO are disrupting our business,” said Bart Gyssels, chief innovation officer at Altrad Services Benelux. “We will have problems in finding and keeping good personnel—this will be our main focus in the coming years and decades. These innovations are very helpful in attracting and motivating our co-workers and help us to provide our customers with cost-effective and safe services.”
With minor adjustments, the technology can be applied to allied activities such as insulation, painting, and other material transport, said KEWAZO. The company said its vision is to automate and digitize all on-site logistics, from the arrival of materials at the construction site to their use.
Investors support construction robotics
Fifth Wall led KEWAZO's Series A, with participation from from Cybernetix Ventures and Unorthodox Ventures, as well as construction software company Nemetschek. Existing investors True Ventures and MIG Capital AG also participated in the round.
KEWAZO previously closed a $5 million in pre-Series A funding in September 2021.
“Labor shortage and pressure on productivity continues to be the most acute challenges facing the construction industry today,” shared Miguel Nigorra, partner at Fifth Wall. “Artem, Ekaterina [Grib, co-founder and chief financial officer], and the entire team at KEWAZO are laser-focused on solving this head-on, bringing much needed automation and robotics to the trillion-dollar construction industry.”
“Scaffolding is one of the most attractive and ripe for disruption verticals in the market, and KEWAZO's solutions are best in class within that vertical and the broader construction industry,” he said. “We’re thrilled to be a part of their category-defining growth.”
About Fifth Wall
Founded in 2016, Fifth Wall said it is the largest venture capital firm focused on technology for the global real estate industry. The Certified B corporation said it has approximately $3.2 billion in commitments and capital under management.
Fifth Wall said it “connects many of the world's largest owners and operators of real estate with the entrepreneurs who are redefining the future of the built world.” It is backed by a global mix of more than 100 strategic limited partners (LPs) from more than 15 countries.
They include BNP Paribas Real Estate, British Land, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Hilton, Host Hotels & Resorts, Ivanhoé Cambridge, Kimco Realty Corporation, Lennar, Lowe's Home Improvement, Marriott International, MetLife Investment Management, MGM Resorts, Related Companies, Starwood Capital, and Toll Brothers.
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