Fast-growing NC construction software startup Prescient lands $190M

This software firm is getting ready to further disrupt the construction market after landing $190 million in funding.

Meet Prescient, a Charlotte-based digital design-build company that is leveraging offsite manufacturing and lightweight steel construction to lower costs and save time for architects and general contractors.

This week, against the backdrop of a hot housing market, the firm added to its coffers with a massive raise led by two long-term investors: Kansas City, Missouri-based construction firm JE Dunn and Greenwich, Connecticut-based holding company Eldridge.

Now, it says it plans to grow even more quickly.

“We are focused on several market segments to enable our scaling,” its CEO Magued Eldaief told Hypepotamus. “These include student housing, market-rate apartments, and federal housing.”

The construction sector is long overdue for this kind of innovation, he added.

“There have been no productivity gains in construction in the last 40 years,” he said. “With rising overall costs for project execution and a massive shortage of attainable housing, there is a need to innovate and find better ways to drive greater productivity and to address a huge market need.”

Sustainable Building Practices

Founded in 2012, Prescient’s platform promises a “greener, more sustainable” way to build by eliminating wastes across the board, including off-site manufacturing and on-site assembly.

All components of Prescient’s system are made from 100 percent recycled steel that can be “taken apart, reused, or recycled.”

To date, it’s raised roughly $295 million, according to Crunchbase. Eldrige invested $90 million last June. It employs around 400 workers; and has manufacturing and engineering facilities in Mebane, North Carolina, Arvada, Colorado, and a Global Technical Center in Poland.

“We are excited by the significant progress Prescient’s business and operations have continued to make since our initial investment in 2018,” said Tony Minella, co-founder and president of Eldridge.

“There is a huge opportunity in the marketplace.”

To date, Prescient has completed 57 buildings.

Recent projects include Generation Atlanta, a 17-story mixed-use apartment building in Atlanta developed by Kaplan Residential and built by CBG Building Co.; and the Osprey, a 12-story mixed-use apartment building in Atlanta’s West Midtown neighborhood developed by Toll Brothers with general contractor Balfour Beatty.

It holds 98 patents across 30 countries on its technology and manufacturing processes.

Looking ahead, Eldaief said he’s checking out new markets and new geographies.

“[Our goal] is to make Prescient the ubiquitous off-site construction platform across the US and eventually Europe,” he said.

View of Generation Atlanta – From Prescient’s Twitter account

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