BuildingConnected, which provides software linking contractors and developers, has raised $15 million from a strategic investor — Brookfield Ventures, the new venture arm from real estate developer Brookfield Asset Management.
The new investment bumps the total raised by BuildingConnect to $53 million. Previous investors in the company include Crosslink Capital, Brick & Mortar Ventures, Freestyle Capital, Homebrew, Bee Partners, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
“It is rare to have an investor also be a customer. We are excited to have Brookfield as a partner as we seek to expand our geographic footprint and develop new and innovative products for our expanding roster of customers,” said BuildingConnected CEO Dustin DeVan in a statement.
DeVan, a former engineer in the construction industry, and his co-founder, Jesse Pederson, who worked in online marketing, both saw the need for a professional network that linked parties in the construction industry.
More than $80 billion of new construction projects are posted to the company’s platform, where roughly 170,000 small business owners, general contractors and subcontractors are now pitching their services.
Companies listing work on the platform include construction firms like Clark Construction, Mortenson, McCarthy, StructureTone, Shawmut, Turner Construction and others. And BuildingConnected counts owners and developers such as Brookfield, Panera Bread, UCSF and Duke Realty as customers.
Brookfield isn’t only a BuildingConnected investor, it’s also a customer. More than 300 Brookfield projects have used the BuildingConnected marketplace for jobs ranging from $50,000 remodeling contracts to $900 million office towers.
