Material Procurement AI Software Gets Big Investors
Originally Published by: Construction Dive — April 6, 2023
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Company: Field Materials
Funding amount: $4.65 million
Top funder: Blumberg Capital
San Jose, California-based software firm Field Materials announced that it raised $4.65 million in a seed funding round on April 6, according to a press release shared with Construction Dive. The round was led by San Francisco-based venture capital firm Blumberg Capital, and joined by Zacua Ventures.
The startup’s product is an AI-driven program that intends to streamline materials procurement for contractors, and can aid professionals throughout the entire construction process. It performs tasks that were originally done in Excel, Word and on paper, according to the company. It also uses AI-powered checking systems to monitor delivery slips and invoices to catch errors and minimize delays.
Field Materials claims its programs are currently used by both general contractors and specialty subs that buy large quantities of construction materials from trade-specialized suppliers. However, the company declined to share a list of clients using their program.
The platform works with existing estimation and accounting software, and captures all emails and texts automatically, which provides transparency to all parties through the process.
“Field Materials’ platform provides an essential link between the field, the office and the vendors,” said Andy Ball, the former CEO of San Francisco-based contractor Webcor and current president of Oakland, California-based real estate firm oWow.
Field Materials isn’t the first startup focused on AI launched by founders Eldar Sadikov and Victor Gane. Both were the proprietors of an AI-based predictive marketing firm called Jetlore, which PayPal bought in 2018. The company focused on marketing efforts in the retail sector.
The use of AI is at an inflection point in the construction industry. The technology has garnered widespread interest and appeal, and other companies like Togal.AI are also pulling in millions in funding.
On the fintech side, contractors are eager for solutions to the sometimes painful payment issues that plague the industry. The demand is great enough that even larger, more established companies in the space such as Carpinteria, California-based Procore, are getting in on the action. The contech giant announced a payment service launching in 2023 called Procore Pay, created in partnership with Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking.