Foundamental, the largest global investor in construction technology, today announced that it has co-led a €10M Seed financing for 011h, a next-generation tech-enabled general contractor for high-quality, affordable and sustainable multi-family homes based in Europe. The company uses technology for the design and construction of sustainable, healthy, and affordable residential buildings. The round is among the ten largest Seed rounds in Europe in 2020.
“We are drawn to founders who fix the general contracting issue with full-service models built around an integrated tech and supplier stack and with sustainable supply chains”, says Patric Hellermann, General Partner at Foundamental.
Lucas Carné, co-founder and co-CEO of 011h, believes “there is a common denominator between all the investors that have put their faith in us. They’re innovative, socially responsible and share our vision of 011h as the best opportunity to revolutionize a sector that they know well.”
José Ojeda, co-founder and COO, notes that “our success will be to achieve a radical transformation of the construction industry we know today into a sector which is more industrial, collaborative, technological, efficient, transparent, and sustainable.” Ojeda added: “Furthermore, the transformation of the industry will help create a range of high-quality homes at affordable prices.”
In the founding team Carné (Privalia) and Ojeda (Lyst, GFG) are joined by José Manuel Villanueva and Josep Barbera (Privalia, Mango), Juan Velayos (Neinor Homes, Renta) and Alex Valls (Social Point).
Over the past 9 months, Foundamental observes a new type of tech-enabled general contractors and home developers in major markets such as the USA, India, Indonesia and now also Europe. Different from earlier companies such as Katerra, who follow an asset-heavy approach, Foundamental observes a shift to asset-light contracting models. Since January 2020, Foundamental estimates that more than $200M of early-stage funding were invested into tech-enabled home-builders. “We see an inflection”, says Hellermann.
011h marks the sixth investment globally that Foundamental has made into tech-enabled home-builders in Asia, North America and Europe. The team’s previous investments in the space include Mighty Buildings, Welcome Homes, and Brick & Bolt.
As to why Foundamental made 011h its first tech-enabled home-builder to back outside Asia and North America, Patric Hellermann said: “The team delivered big successes in home building, supply chain optimization and consumer plays. Their expertise transfers well to build multi-family homes cleaner and faster with their unique platform approach. We are proud to partner with one of the most accomplished founder teams in Europe.”
Foundamental is joined by co-investors A/O PropTech, Giuseppe Zocco, the co-founder of Index Ventures, and Cultivate, the Angel Network founded by Blossom Capital.