Less than one year after securing its Series A round ($3.5 million), TraceAir, a construction software startup with Russian roots, has attracted $5 million from Flashpoint Venture Capital, reports Rusven.
Founded in 2015, TraceAir has developed a cloud platform to help construction companies control quality and costs with the help of drone data, smart analytics and an advanced visual interface. Among other benefits, customers can “minimize waste using site balance tools to track cut/fills,” and “save time and manage projects remotely using drone images.”
The company has 80 employees in Russia and the USA, with headquarters in Redwood, California. Explaining, in a recent media interview, why his startup expanded to the US, TraceAir CEO Dmitry Korolev said: “The U.S, construction market is much bigger than it is in Russia. It is the second-largest in the world after China. It is 60 times bigger here than in Russia. We came to the Bay Area because it is the best place to do the software and product development we want to do.”
Meanwhile, TraceAir also has an impressive client portfolio in Russia, including such industry giants as Gazprom Invest and Nornickel in Russia. In total, the company claims its technology is in use in more than 800 projects across the world.
The Covid-19 pandemic, which results in delayed projects and a variety of other issues in the construction industry, gave a boost to TraceAir since its technology allows for more efficient remote collaboration. The company claims its sales grew three fold this year, compared with 2020.
The Russian-American startup will use the fresh funding to develop in the US real estate construction market, in particular.
“New working practices and safety requirements raise the importance of automation tools, enabling us to complete many tasks remotely and to accelerate site completion,” said Brian McCosker, president of Independent Construction, in previous statements. The TraceAir platform an answer to “the industry’s most burning needs,” he added.
Previously known as Buran Capital, Flashpoint Venture Capital is a notable investor in Central and Eastern Europe, Finland and Israel. TraceAir’s previous investors include GEM Capital, GPS Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, Metropolis.VC, PIKvc, Sistema_VC, XTX Ventures, US construction industry majors Independent Construction and ENGEO, as well as Wrike founder Andrew Filev.
In 2016, the startup received $125,000 from 500 startups.
