Bridgit, the Waterloo Region company whose software helps streamline large construction projects, has raised CDN$7.75-million in new investment as its growth continues.
The Series A funding round was led by the BDC Women in Technology Venture Fund, with involvement from the MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund, Innovation Grade Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Sands Capital Ventures, StandUp Ventures and Vanedge Capital Partners. The company is also completing a debt financing with CIBC Innovation Banking.
“We’re extremely excited to have support from so many prominent investors,” Bridgit CEO and co-founder Mallorie Brodie said, adding that “2019 is going to be a big year for Bridgit, as we work towards adding to our software suite, and updating the Bridgit brand our customers know and love.”
Bridgit is the second Waterloo Region construction tech company to announce Series A funding in recent weeks. Dozr, a heavy-equipment rental platform, raised CDN$14-million last month.
Both Bridgit and Dozr moved to Waterloo Region from other cities to build their companies, and both took part in Communitech Rev, an accelerator program designed to help companies with products in-market to boost sales revenue.
Brodie and Lauren Lake, who grew up in families with construction-industry backgrounds, co-founded Bridgit in 2013 after both had attended the University of Western Ontario. Their idea was to apply smartphone app technology to streamlining certain tasks on construction sites, where pens and clipboards still prevailed.
Neither had a technical background, so they started by conducting boots-on-the-ground market research, scanning the horizon for cranes and cold-calling at construction sites to ask workers about the challenges they faced.
Bridgit went on to raise a US$1.7-million seed round in 2016 and has grown steadily. It now employs 50 people, with a 50-50 split between women and men. Its technology is in use on thousands of construction sites across North America.
While slow to replace manual methods with technology, the construction industry saw investment in technology grow 30 per cent in 2018, the company said in a release, and the trend is expected to continue this year. The total value of the construction sector is expected to exceed US$10 trillion by 2020.
“Bridgit’s inherent understanding of its customers’ needs is impressive and foundational in empowering customers to embrace technology,” said Michelle Scarborough, Managing Director of BDC Capital’s Women in Technology Fund. “We’re excited to partner with Bridgit as they continue to disrupt the construction market and bring innovation to an industry on the brink of enormous change.”
