LONDON, 25th May 2022 - Converge, an AI-based construction technology company, has raised over GBP 15 million to digitise, optimise, and decarbonise construction materials and processes responsible for 11% of global CO2 emissions. The round was led by mission-aligned investor OGCI Climate Investments (OGCI CI), a specialist decarbonization investor, with the participation of TO Ventures, and existing investors.
Raphael Scheps, CEO of Converge, said:
"We are excited to partner with OGCI Climate Investments, which has led this round as a value-aligned, strategic investor. Since 2016, Converge has been developing and scaling innovation solutions to power the digital transformation of the construction industry. Together, we will drive transformative progress in the decarbonisation of the sector, effectively bending the cost and carbon curve simultaneously, and offering products that will be "must haves" as stakeholders demand sustainable solutions to build the future"
Mike Bishop, Investment Director at OGCI Climate Investments, said:
“We have identified the decarbonisation of cement and concrete amongst the critical pathways for achieving meaningful near-term emissions impact. Converge’s highly scalable and easily adopted digital solutions can deliver that impact across the construction sector. We look forward to working with the team as they grow.”
ConstructionDNA, Converge’s AI-based construction optimisation platform, digitises the physical reality of construction using sensors embedded throughout the jobsite. The platform fuses these data with construction data such as BIM, schedules, and budgets in order to deliver actionable insights that allow stakeholders to build more efficiently, safely, and sustainably.
Converge focussed its initial efforts on concrete, which is responsible for 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally. ConstructionDNA’s concrete module was trained on Converge's vast and rich dataset, and is being used by world leading contractors and readymix concrete suppliers. The flagship module predicts when concrete will reach strength with >95% confidence, speeding up build times by up to 30% and empowering the transition to carbon efficient concrete. Using the technology, ready-mix suppliers are reliably and safely optimising their concrete mix designs to significantly reduce GHG emissions.
With this mission-aligned series A, Converge's ambition is to reduce average cement content in concrete by ~15%, estimating a 26 megatonnes CO2e p.a saving by 2030.
Converge is expanding its suite of modules to include the optimization of construction logistics and structural health. It is on a path to building a holistic model of construction and becoming the digital enabler for decarbonisation of the entire construction sector, with the potential to generate gigatonnes of CO2e savings by 2050.
Media contact: Guillaume Borkhataria
guillaume.borkhataria@cconverge.io
Images available here
Converge is an AI-based construction technology company founded by Raphael Scheps and Gideon Farrell, headquartered in London with an office in Singapore. Converge is making construction more efficient, safe, and sustainable, using AI and reality capture devices to digitise and optimise project delivery . Converge's technologies are used globally by leading construction contractors and material suppliers, supporting the transition to lower carbon materials and novel construction methodologies. .
By building a holistic model of construction, Converges flagship AI platform, ConstructionDNA, enables optimisation and decarbonisation across the entire construction process. It is powered by real-time data from reality capture devices embedded throughout the construction site. Currently, they measure and optimise concrete performance, structural behaviour, and construction logistics.
With the ambition to build an independent, objectively-verifiable data model of construction, and become the digital enabler for decarbonization of the entire sector, Converge aims to enable gigatonnes of CO2e savings by 2050 and work with the industry to transition to net-zero construction.
OGCI Climate Investments was formed by the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative, a CEO-led initiative of oil & gas majors that accounts for around 30% of global operated production. OGCI aims to lead the industry’s response to climate change.
At OGCI Climate Investments, we seek to accelerate the global implementation of low carbon solutions by collaborating with OGCI members, governments, customers, and co-investors. We have invested in 26 technologies and projects since 2017.
Among its investment-focused activities, CI currently manages a $1B+ fund, Catalyst Fund I, and is an investor in China Climate Investments. Both funds invest in solutions to decarbonize under-invested carbon-intensive sectors within energy, industrials, built environments/buildings and transportation. CI targets solutions that deliver near-term GHG impact in three areas: reducing methane, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and recycling or storing carbon dioxide.
More: ogci.com
To.org is a platform that operates in venture capital, philanthropy, and the creative space, uniting all three on a mission of ‘tikkun olam’. Founded by Nachson Mimran and Arieh Mimran, the organization incubates relationships and talent that make the world a better place.
The to.org mission is achieved in four distinct ways: 1) TO Ventures – investing to accelerate Earth’s most vital ventures; 2) TO Create – amplifying Earth’s most vital ideas; 3) TO Foundation – accelerating vital solutions to Earth’s greatest challenges; 4) To: Collection - driving engagement with provocative commissions.
To.org has been involved with TOGETHER FUND, #TOGETHERBAND, mPharma, Flutterwave, The Every Company, Wasoko, MaxAB, Diamond Foundry, Pangaia, and Beyond Meat, among others.
More: to.org
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