Estonia-based construction tech startup Remato raises $1.7M in funding to disrupt the $10.5 trillion global construction industry

The global construction industry is expected to reach an estimated $10.5 trillion by 2023. With the US Senate’s recent approval of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, the construction industry is going to see the inflow of billions of dollars in additional spending, thereby pushing the industry to a new height.

However, as technology innovation and disruption ripple through other sectors of the economy, the construction industry still lags behind other sectors like the auto industry where robotics and AI are playing bigger roles.

For example, there are millions of small and medium-sized construction businesses in Europe and the Americas, all of whom face universal challenges in terms of performance, administration, and deadlines. Most of them are still largely under-digitized or deploy fragmented software for specific tasks. This presents an enormous productivity increase potential for the industry, measured at $1.6 trillion, leaving room for thousands of construction tech unicorns driving the change.

These problems present opportunities for innovative tech startups to disrupt the sector. One of the startups leading this disruption is Tartu, Remato, an Estonia-based tech startup that’s streamlining the construction sector’s transition from analog to digital.

Today, Remato announced it has raised a $1.7 million seed investment round, led by London-based Passion Capital, with participation from founders and early team members of Pipedrive along with venture funds Superangel, Lemonade Stand, Spring Capital, and Kaamos Group – a long-standing property developer and general contractor in the region. The new investment brings Remato’s total funding up to $2.5 million.

Founded in 2018 by Madis Lehtmets, Remato is a B2B SaaS for small and medium construction companies. The startup is streamlining the construction sector’s transition from analog to digital. What publicly-listed Procore is for large general contractors, Remato is for the subcontractor SMBs who are responsible for 95% of the work on-site and represent 80% of the overall global construction market.

For the past three years, the founding team has worked together to develop a seamless platform and delightful user experience for small and medium construction firms for projects, people, and assets. The company now has 14 team members in Estonia and Finland and looks forward to establishing its UK presence

The Remato-developed software enables field contractors to easily plan and manage budgets, labor, materials, and equipment all in one app, which serves as a single source of truth. The software provides superior situational awareness by enabling real-time collaboration for offices, field crews, and client representatives.

Eileen Burbidge, Partner at Passion Capital, said: “We’re very excited to be working with Remato. Their traction to date clearly validates the need for digital user experiences and platforms for the massive construction sector, which comprises 10% of the global economy. We look forward to supporting the team’s ambitions in the UK, across the rest of Europe, and North America.”

Developed by a team with global tech background in companies like Wise, Booking.com, and Glia, Remato is growing steadily at 10-15% MoM. The Remato platform is attracting the $13 trillion global construction industry with a mobile-first user experience that focuses on ease of use. As heralded by its 1700 daily active users, the app’s holistic approach is what distinguishes Remato from its competitors.

Commenting on the funding, Lehtmets said: “The construction industry needs simplicity and modern design to achieve the mass adoption of software. We believe that user experience should be much more of a priority, as frontline adoption depends on it. It helps the traditionally low-tech industry to go fully digital.”

Remato currently has hundreds of companies as customers in the Nordics and Baltics. This new investment round has catalyzed the company’s efforts towards the vast UK construction market of 2.7 million employees. With a UK-based industry growth manager, Simon Gibbons, onboard as an advisor, Remato is progressing towards 2-3 times growth by the end of the year. As the platform grows, the founding team envisions a marketplace for its customers for collaboration, bidding, and leasing of labor, materials, and equipment.