Property-tech startup BuildSupply bags Series A funding

Archer Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which owns tech-enabled property startup BuildSupply, has raised $3.5 million (around Rs 25 crore at current exchange rates) in a Series A round of funding led by investment firm Venture Highway.

Gurugram-based BuildSupply said in a statement that other participants in the round included Amit Singhal, the former head of Google search; the Space Matrix Group, a design firm; the co-founders of online home decor startup Livspace; and existing investors Gree Ventures and Sonny Kalsi, founder of GreenOak Real Estate.

BuildSupply, which offers an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for the real estate and construction industry, said it will primarily use the fresh capital to expand its product reach to the top 10 metros and the top 1,000 companies in the sector. 

It also aims to expand its digital footprint from the current 50 million sq. ft to about 300 million sq. ft of real estate projects over the next 18 months.

BuildSupply was founded in 2016 by Sameer Nayar, a former executive of Credit Suisse Real Estate, and Sarit Sethi, who previously worked with construction firm M+W Group.

BuildSupply’s software platform claims to help real estate developers and contractors automate the workflows in the development and construction process. This includes processes around budgeting and estimation, tendering, invoicing and billing, resource planning, scheduling and material management. The solution allows developers to manage the entire procurement process online, helping plug leakages and achieve efficient pricing.

“It is an industry that has historically struggled with project delays, cost overruns and leakages in the procurement process,” said Nayar. “We will use the funds to accelerate our sales and tech hiring, expand our product portfolio and provide state-of-the-art procurement and financing solutions for our customers.”

The company currently has a presence in the National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai and Bengaluru and counts real estate firms such as Godrej Properties, Vatika Developers and the Embassy Group among its clients.

“This investment is in line with our thesis of backing exceptional founding teams in white space areas to create new categories with a long-term competitive advantage,” said Samir Sood, founder at Venture Highway.

Venture Highway is an India and Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund founded by former Google executive Sood and advised by Neeraj Arora, who recently quit as the global business head at Facebook-owned messaging company WhatsApp. 

Its portfolio companies include vernacular social networking firm ShareChat, cybersecurity services provider ShieldSquare, med-tech company SigTuple, business-to-business (B2B) marketplace Moglix and social commerce venture Meesho.