Press Release: canibuild series A funding raise

 February 2022: Australian construction SaaS platform canibuild has raised AUD8 million in a Series A round. Led by EVP and joined by Regal Funds Management, the new funds will support the company as it continues to grow in Australia, New Zealand and the US, and as it enters new markets. 

The investment follows significant growth in the past 12 months, with the canibuild team quadrupling in size to over 50 staff and revenues jumping 20% MoM. 

Founded in 2020 by Timothy Cocaro, Deepankur Malhotra, Shuvajeet Nag and Stella Cocaro, canibuild gives builders a simple and quick way to assess a site’s suitability for construction in real time. This extends from the construction of pools to houses, sheds and even granny flats. 

The platform uses a Geographic Information System (GIS) with Artificial intelligence (AI) to create an inclusive planning and design tool. It equips building sales teams with the tools needed to take customers through design, viability and compliance in a visual way and enabling informed decision making. 

Close to 3,000 users across Australia, New Zealand and the United States already rely on canibuild daily. Clients include Metricon, GJ Gardner, McDonald Jones, Narellan Pools, Ranbuild, SnapADU and Mightybuildings. 

The investment comes at an opportune time for the company, with a recent McKinsey* report highlighting that businesses (including the construction industry) have leapt 10 years forward in a period of just 12 months thanks to the impacts of COVID. There is also a global building boom taking place, with over 100,000 homes being built in Australia every year alone. 

 This flexibility and the platform’s broad application opens canibuild to the entire house and land packaging market, including developers seeking an easier method of sale and associated individuals wanting to conduct their own research. 

Founder and CEO Timothy Cocaro is no stranger to the industry, having worked in construction for over 20 years. 

“The majority of challenges faced during construction can be traced back to how a residence was first sold, the mismanagement of planning and the misalignment of client and builder expectations. We built canibuild to solve these problems. Our goal is to make life easier for everyone in the building process,” Cocaro said. 

“canibuild helps both builders and their clients to instantly understand what can be done on a block of land. Physical site visits, drafting, surveying, estimating and a complex series of high friction steps are reduced to a point in time transaction through a digital environment,” he said. 

“Rather than going back and forth for weeks, we give users the ability to see the project site virtually and contract instantly. This increased transparency dramatically reduces sales cycles and planning timelines which have historically been a significant burden on builders and their clients.” 

canibuild is already well endorsed in Australia, with the likes of G.J. Gardener Homes, Australia’s largest home builder, a client. Simon Curtis, Chief Operating Officer, NSW/ACT/WA said that they have already successfully incorporated the platform into the company’s way of selling. 

“Our New Homes Consultants have embraced the technology and love how it simplifies our sales process. We are excited by the development of this type of technology for our industry.” 

Daniel Szekely, Partner at EVP and a new canibuild Board Member, said that planning in the construction industry is enormously cumbersome and problematic for builders and their customers. 

“Many have tried to solve this issue but until now, none have done it effectively. canibuild isn’t a technical, black box design tool but rather a platform that puts customers at the centre of the experience. It is used by all stakeholders including designers, sales persons and critically, the client — enabling everyone to have a clear vision of what’s possible so that ultimately, more can build their dream homes. It is one of those rare opportunities where the demand for the solution is self-evident.” 

Ben McCallum, Portfolio Manager at Regal Funds Management, said that canibuild solves one of the many archaic processes prevalent in the construction industry. 

“canibuild streamlines what is often a highly iterative, multi-week sales process through its digital sales experience which aggregates and automates multiple steps in the customer journey whilst eliminating multiple bottlenecks in the process – it’s no surprise the resounding feedback from every builder we spoke to was of overwhelming praise.” 

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For more information: 

Dionne Taylor / Polkadot Communications / 02 9281 4190 or 0411 230 301 / dionne@polkadotcomms.com.au 

About canibuild 

canibuild allows builders to replace the need for physical site visits, drafting, surveying, estimating and instead optimising this complex series of high friction steps into an instant point of transaction. canibuild clients can now go from seeing a project site virtually with a client to contract instantly. This not only allows builders to be more efficient but also cover a much wider area geographically which is a game-changer in an industry that is so fragmented. 

About EVP 

EVP is a venture capital firm focused on early-stage B2B SaaS and marketplace companies. We make high conviction investments, underpinned by ambition, pragmatism and a deep understanding of the software journey. Based in Sydney, EVP currently has over $150m under management. EVP’s growing portfolio includes companies such as Deputy, Practice Ignition, Shippit and Hnry. 

About Regal Funds Management 

Regal is a specialist alternatives investment manager. Founded in 2004, Regal is one of Australia's leading investment managers servicing a wide range of institutional investors, family offices and high net worth individuals, and manages over $3bn in capital. Regal’s Emerging Companies strategy manages over $1bn of capital, investing in listed microcaps, unlisted expansion capital and pre-IPO opportunities.