Construction Fintech Startup Built Nabs $1.5 Billion Valuation

(Bloomberg) -- Built Technologies, a construction industry-focused financial-technology startup, has more than tripled its valuation to $1.5 billion after raising $125 million in an equity funding round led by TCV.

Brookfield Technology Partners, 9Yards Capital, HighSage Ventures and XYZ Venture Capital participated in the fundraising, Chase Gilbert, chief executive officer of Nashville, Tennessee-based Built, said in an interview. Existing investors including Lee Fixel’s Addition, Fifth Wall and Index Ventures also took part.

“We’re starting to get a lot of traction, with $74 billion annually transacted through Built,” said Gilbert, who co-founded the company in 2014. Construction lenders U.S. Bancorp, Fifth Third Bancorp and Regions Financial Corp., as well as companies such as D.R. Horton Inc., Discovery Land Co. and Laramar Group, are among the startup’s customers.

“This funding will enable us to put gas on the fire of what’s working and add natural adjacencies,” he said. Built plans to expand beyond providing technology that supports construction lending to facilitating spending on insurance, supplies, labor, materials, equipment and other areas, potentially through a marketplace.  

The market opportunity is vast, Gilbert said, referencing $1.6 trillion in annual U.S. construction spend, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Construction is a massive industry that is still dominated by non-automated processes and we believe the value proposition is massive due to Built’s ease-of use,” TCV general partner Woody Marshall, who is joining Built’s board, said in an interview. He said Built can benefit from a network effect because users such as financial institutions or construction firms tend to attract others involved in the same project. 

Built is currently focused on the U.S. and Canada, but is canvassing options to broaden to countries like the U.K. and Australia as soon as next year, Gilbert said. 

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