3-year old startup Katerra raises $865 million from SoftBank Vision Fund

The Silicon Valley-based Katerra announced today it has raised $865 million Series D funding round led by the SoftBank Vision Fund. The funding will be used to fund Katerra’s continued manufacturing expansion and for further investment in its R&D efforts. To date, the company has raised a total of $1.1 billion. The latest funding values the construction start-up just over $3 billion. Founded in 2015 by Michael Marks, Katerra is a technology company optimizing every aspect of building development, design, and construction. The global team includes leaders in design, software and building engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and construction. Founded in 2015, Katerra has a growing number of domestic and international offices, factories, and building projects.

“The construction industry is ripe for digital disruption” said Michael Marks, chairman and co-founder of Katerra. “Katerra leverages its own software platform to remove time and costs from building development and construction. This new round of funding will enable us to further invest in R&D and continue to scale the business.”

Founded in 2015, Katerra has already accomplished the following in less than three years:

• Accumulated more than $1.3 billion in bookings for new construction, spanning the multi-family, student and senior housing, and hospitality sectors
• Amassed a global team of more than 1,300 people, attracting senior leadership and talent from groundbreaking technology brands such as Apple, Google, HP, Nokia, Sandisk, and Flextronics
• Opened a fully operational manufacturing facility in Phoenix, AZ with a roadmap in place for multiple additional domestic factories, including breaking ground on a mass timber factory in Spokane, WA.

“The $12 trillion construction industry is extremely fragmented with tens of thousands of companies using minimal levels of technology. While labor-productivity growth has skyrocketed in the overall global economy, the construction industry has averaged only 1% annual productivity growth over the past two decades,” said Jeffrey Housenbold, managing partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers.

“Katerra is leveraging the latest technologies to radically transform the way people build. Drawing on his experience leading Flextronics, Michael’s unique vision and talented team are taking the great lessons of electronic manufacturing and applying them to an industry that is in dire need of change. We are excited to support Katerra as they expand across markets and geographies and unleash a new wave of productivity.”

New investors in the round include: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a private investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management LLC, Tavistock Group, Navitas Capital, DivcoWest, and others.