BOSTON— Suffolk Technologies, the venture capital and technology investment arm of real estate and construction enterprise Suffolk, hosted its 2nd annual Boost Demo Day at its headquarters in Roxbury, MA.
Suffolk Technologies selected six startup finalists from more than 100 applicants—20 percent more applicants than last year. The startups collaborated with Suffolk operational experts, consultants, industry leaders and academics to fine tune their cutting-edge solutions and showcase them to potential investors on Demo Day.
“We take tremendous pride in offering a program designed to accelerate innovation and growth in the construction industry, an industry that can oftentimes be slow to evolve. We have been excited to work alongside these entrepreneurial innovators and our program partners to solve the industry’s greatest challenges and introduce more productivity and efficiency gains to the built world,” said Parker Mundt, Operating Director of Suffolk Technologies.
The Boost program is an intense six-week program that brings together promising technology startup founders committed to addressing construction industry challenges, expanding their networks and raising funding for future growth. The Boost program consisted of: 1) lectures and panel discussions driven by Suffolk leaders, MIT professors and Suffolk Technologies portfolio company founders; 2) dedicated time with the Suffolk CoLab Construction Solution Directors who will partner with the finalists and potentially test their solutions on Suffolk project sites; and 3) Demo Day that allows finalists to share their solutions with industry influencers and investors.
Suffolk Technologies partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Real Estate, Bain Capital Ventures, RXR Realty, Liberty Mutual Insurance, HILTI, Ninefour Ventures, Romulus Capital, Procore Technologies, EquipmentShare and OpenSpace. Leaders from these high-profile organizations participated in brainstorm sessions and discussions with the startups; most have plans to invest in the startups. Boost Demo Day finalists from last year collectively raised more than $100 million in capital to accelerate their growth plans.
“The Boost program was instrumental to WINT’s growth plans. We had unwavering support from the program partners and Suffolk’s operational teams, and the rigorous and structured Boost programming allowed us to be very effective and more efficient in just six weeks. Having completed this program, we are excited to grow our operation and drive the reduction of water damage on projects throughout the country. I recommend this program to other founders in the construction tech space who want to make their dream for an innovative solution a reality,” said Alon Geva, CEO of WINT.
Applications for the 2021 Boost program included startups offering solutions across the product development stages, with an emphasis on green building, robotics, design, supply chain, marketplace and fintech spaces. The finalists for this year’s Demo Day included the following startup companies:
· WINT – Water Intelligence is an enterprise-grade water management solution that uses artificial intelligence to prevent water damage and optimize water usage, all while continuously monitoring and optimizing consumption.
· Soil Connect is a digital platform focused on the multi-billion dollar soil and aggregates industry. Its platform was created for excavators, contractors, builders, landscapers and other building professionals who work with soil and aggregates on a regular basis. The platform connects those who have soil and aggregates, with those who need it.
· NYFTY is an AI-intelligence Bot that solves communication issues on construction sites automating tasks such as daily reporting, manpower counts, and other processes in the construction space.
· Felux is a digital marketplace, supply chain and procurement platform for the metals industry offering a simpler way to source, transact, finance and manage your business.
· Moxion manufactures mobile energy storage technology and operates an all-electric equipment rental business providing clean, temporary-power-as-a-service to customers in industries such as construction, electrified transportation, events and entertainment, film production, and telecommunications. Moxion’s technology and vertically integrated business model offer the first viable alternative to fossil fuel-burning generators.
· Rugged Robotics is a robotics company with an autonomous vehicle that marks fully-coordinated A/E designs directly onto unfinished floors.
