How will we
build our
future?

We love the bold and bright who make AEC and mining be autonomous and clean with technology and science.

chapter 1

The market

Construction is one of the biggest sectors in the world.

10T A ten trillion dollar market
10% Ten percent of world’s GDP
1 /14 Employs 1 in 14 workers globally

… and so is the extraction of materials, many of them used in construction.

1T A one trillion dollar market
1.2% 1.2 percent of world’s GDP
79B Tons of materials mined every year

In an era of change, construction has been left behind

While even late adopter industries such as manufacturing, shipping, insurance, oil & gas and agriculture have all been transformed over the last 20 years. Construction and mining still looks almost exactly like it did 20 years ago where most of the market leaders from two decades ago are still at the top.

52% 48% All sectors
Construction & Mining 15% 85%
BANKRUPT OR ACQUIRED Fortune 500 Companies: 2000 vs. 2019 STILL ALIVE

Not surprisingly, it’s a market plagued by inefficiency — and a goldmine for outside innovators.

2x

Costs are spiraling
Construction costs have doubled since 2000.
62% Consumer prices explode Construction and mining are responsible for 62% of all inflation since 2000.
3-5h Outdated processes are the norm Foremen and contractors spend three to five hours every day on manual, repetitive communications.
17% Its carbon footprint is huge The construction and mining sector accounts for 17% of global CO2 emissions.

And, it’s on the wrong trajectory: Productivity in construction and mining has dropped by 27% in 25 years.

CONSTRUCTION AGRICULTURE Gross value added per hour worked. Real. 1980 = 100 MANUFACTURING MINING 290% 240% -30% vs. 2000 -10% vs. 1980, -23% vs. 1990 300 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 250 200 150 100

But despite all this, the industry still isn’t solving its issues from within.

1.5% Only 1.5% of construction revenue is invested in technology – 55% less than in other sectors.
5-10x Construction and mining players invest 5 – 10x less of their revenue in R&D than other sectors.
Mini n g A e r os p a c e & De f ense C h emicals Ele c t r ici t y S t eel & Metals P r odu c e r s Aggregates & C e m ent Ge n e r al I n dust r ies I n dust r ial E n gi n ee r i n g T ele c ommunications A u t o m obiles & P a r ts Retaile r s C onstru c tion C onstru c tion E quip m ent Buildi n g Ma t e r ials 1x 0 x 1x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9 x 1 0 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 x 8 x 9 x 1 0 x R & D / R e v enue R & D / Empl oy ee

So, why hasn’t construction and mining been disrupted? Because it’s inaccessible and fragmented for outsiders.

99.9% 99.9% of companies with fewer than 50 employees deliver 80% of value.
20% Enterprise-size contractors deliver less than 20% of the construction value.
CONSTRUCTION VALUE ADDED NUMBER OF CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES 20% 0 – 9 Employees Employees Employees Employees Employees 40% 60% 80% 100% 10 – 19 20 – 49 50 – 249 ≥ 250
What’s the good news? Well, while markets are locally fragmented, certain industry dynamics and mechanics are consistent from country to country.

This means there is an opportunity to effectively deal with the fragmentation by recognizing global patterns and applying them locally.

Foundamental markets $3.1 trillion with 150 million workers on varying productivities and S curves
chapter 2

The investment opportunity

Before we thought about how our sector could and should be different – we asked ourselves: what will remain? Construction and mining are built on several first principles that are unlikely to disappear:

Simply put, the sector will remain inaccessible and fragmented

10b

Physical fragmentation Sites are geographically dispersed. Ten billion construction sites will always be in ten billion locations.
60min. On-site assembly Fully assembled structures are too heavy to be transported, and concrete perishes within 60 minutes. Final assembly and dis-assembly have to be local.
{ } Terrain constraints The size, shape, slope, geology, and surroundings make each site unique. This limits the use of standardized structures.
*km Physical separation The stakeholders involved in construction projects are spread far and wide. This makes centralized production virtually impossible.
But we believe the construction industry is poised for transformation. We invest in construction because…

Construction and mining will become an orchestrated economy. Both will be orchestrated by autonomous supply chains. Supply chains will be orchestrated end-to-end by integrated data pools. And this transformation will develop in three waves.

wave 1 Isolated data pools New data and improved transparency will solve known problems with simple, immediate solutions that don’t demand behavior change.
wave 2 Connected data pools Workflows will be connected. Transparency will spread to embrace entire processes and data will be used to improve supply chain efficiency.
wave 3 Consolidated data pools A few first movers will take control of the emerging data pools, integrating workflows, and gaining full visibility of the end-to-end market.

Ultimately, construction and mining market power is shifting to those who can orchestrate supply chains end-to-end.

Pre-construction and planning Building materials and logistics Construction Project management THE PAST ‒ OLD ECONOMY Project management Construction Building materials and logistics Pre-construction and planning THE PAST ‒ OLD ECONOMY
Steering via real-time feedback Monitoring and feeding progress of costruction Automating and reorganizing workflow steps to execute construction Autonomous supply chains along construction Learning-looped engineering and planning of construction PRESENT ‒ ORCHESTRATED ECONOMY Steering via real-time feedback Monitoring and feeding progress of costruction Automating and reorganizing workflow steps to execute construction Automating supply chains along construction Learning-looped engineering and planning of construction PRESENT ‒ ORCHESTRATED ECONOMY

In this environment, the industry leaders will be those businesses that can significantly control one (or more) of three digital assets:

Intelligence Real-time optimization of decision making
Protocols Infrastructure for facilitating information and transactions
Fulfillment Optimized supply and operational fulfillment

We think it’s the single most exciting opportunity in the world for ambitious founders and enlightened funders.

chapter 3

The Foundamental advantage

The problem is: construction and mining is inaccessible for outside investors and founders.

Since construction is a global (but locally fragmented) market, founders hoping to disrupt construction need:

  • Support in identifying the right opportunities and in finding product-market fit
  • Help to commercialize cross-border

This requires deep insights, a global view of the industry and access to international markets.

Ultimately, there is a need for VCs with real sector expertise. They have to provide capital and help take early-stage customers to market, as well as the knowledge to help commercialize across borders.

Most importantly, they must be able to recognize themes across markets and continents. For example, project management apps received huge funding globally from 2015-2018. But, not one VC was able to profit from the theme truly globally.

A winner in one market can help predict winners in other markets – if you can spot the winners and patterns on an international scale.

Alright. Here we are. We are the global investor in construction and mining technology.

We go after the winning models across markets. Our unfair advantage is our cross-border theme investing and commercialization, combined with a deep understanding of our sector.

Our ambition is to help you orchestrate construction. Globally.

We ❤️ the orchestrators.

Let’s talk