Aldagrama Japanese startup that develops project management software for construction companies has secured a new strategic backer to help it expand its presence in Asia and the Middle East.
Panasonic, the consumer electronics giant that also develops solar panels, air conditioners and many other products for its company large buildings and construction companiesinvests in Aldagram.
The amount of the investment is not disclosed, but Aldagram said it will use the funds to sharpen its focus on India, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries in the region. Its new strategic investor could add a few more to that list: Panasonic’s construction business is particularly active in India, Turkey and Vietnam. A partnership with Aldagram has existed since 2022.
The investment comes as part of a larger round of financing that the startup completed in the summer of 2022. a $20 million Series A by MonotaRo and JAFCO. As with the previous Serie A, Aldagram is not giving details on its rating. 60 employees are currently employed.
Aldagram’s flagship product is a cloud-based project management platform called KANNA, designed for professionals in the construction, real estate and manufacturing industries to use to source and record on-site data for projects and share that data with other project partners.
“Aldagram’s goal is to bring a new, digital touch to a traditionally very analog industry with an aging workforce and heavy — and sometimes very old — machines,” said Aldagram CEO and co-founder Hikaru Nagahama in an interview with TechCrunch.
But in reality, the construction industry has been a key focus for dozens of tech startups dabbled with the tools to build, the materials used, and the many layers of software that help plan and execute these projects, including some very notable exits B Autodesk’s $875 million acquisition of YC-backed PlanGrid (see here and here for more on startups in this space).
KANNA allows users to digitally store all data and share site photos, project visualization documents, work requests, site location, insights, performance details and more, Nagahama said.
“They can use their smartphone or tablet to use KANNA and easily access the information they want,” Nagahama told TechCrunch.
In addition, KANNA helps construction project managers to keep track of what is happening on site. “If you are a project manager, you can use the site to manage all projects as a list view or contact all project members to provide directions,” Nagahama said.
More than 10,000 companies in over 10 countries including the UK, Spain, Kenya, Uganda, Dubai, India, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Australia have been using KANNA since the first product launch in 2020, according to the company. According to the company, in addition to Panasonic, Mitsui Designtec, Nissan Trading and Tokyu Redesign are among the major users at the industrial level.
The global construction management software market is expected to reach US$23.9 billion in 2031, up from US$9.3 billion in 2021 a recent report.
In addition to a multitude of startups, there are also a multitude of larger IT companies in the construction technology sector worldwide, including Oracle’s Primavera, Procore Technologies and Asana, according to Nagahama.
Oracle was recently acquired Aconex, a cloud-based software platform; And texture, a cloud-based contract and payment management provider, is expanding its Primavera construction management platform. Another company, Procore, subsequently went public in 2021 In 2018, it raised $75 million at a $3 billion valuation.
