Field Materials Raises $4.65 Million to Streamline Construction Material Procurement
Field Materials has raised $4.65 million in seed funding for its construction material purchasing software.
The powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the software helps general contractors and specialty subcontractors streamline tasks in the material procurement process, from requesting quotes to managing orders and deliveries, Field Materials said in a Thursday (April 6) press release.
“The software digitizes workflows that were traditionally done in Excel, email and paper,” Field Materials said in the release. “It eliminates errors and delays in projects through AI-powered checking of delivery slips and invoices as well as automation of notifications and reminders.”
PYMNTS research has found that digital technology is alleviating some of the headaches faced by construction firms as more companies in the sector come around to the speed and operational efficiency of digitizing.
Almost half of middle-market professionals in the sector said investing in technology was a top priority over the next 12 months, with 4 in 10 increasing their budget specifically for adding technology, according to “Building Better Cash Flow in Construction with Digital Payments,” a PYMNTS and American Express collaboration.
The Field Materials software tracks what contractors and suppliers have agreed upon, automates follow-up until closure, and captures all email and text messages to ensure visibility into material orders, according to the press release.
The software works with existing estimation and accounting software and accommodates established communication channels between buyers and sellers in the material procurement market.
“We’ve scouted and looked at dozens of companies in this space and are deeply impressed by what Field Materials is building,” Vivin Hegde, general partner at Zacua Ventures, a venture capital (VC) firm that participated in the seed round, said in the release. “They not only have the best team, product and go-to-market strategy that we’ve seen but have also found ways to minimize friction in every step of the process, which we believe is key to adoption.”
The announcement of this seed funding comes two days after Built Technologies, a provider of construction and real estate finance technology, launched a new business unit focused on solutions for commercial property developers.
Built’s purpose-built solution for commercial property developers will address funding delays, manual processes, unexpected change orders, maintaining an accurate view of the budget and forecast, and other key market challenges.