By Riley Kaminer

Despite a rise in construction costs and an overall increase in market volatility, the construction industry in South Florida is still booming. Overall, the industry accounts for somewhere between 6 and 10% of global GDP. But it’s woefully behind from a technical perspective – part of the reason why as many as 70% of projects finish late and over budget.

Miami-based DigiBuild is building a blockchain-based platform to digitize construction processes and create efficiency at scale. The startup just announced that it has raised a $4 million seed round to spearhead the platform’s growth. Investors include Y Combinator, Draper Associates, Harvard University, Picus Capital, the co-founders of PlanGrid, Bluefield Capital, Cathexis Ventures, MH Carnegie, Build Technologies, OrangeDAO, and Chain Reaction.

In an email to Refresh Miami, co-founder and CEO Robert Salvador said that these funds will be used to expand DigiBuild’s product and technical capabilities. “We’re becoming the trusted Supply Chain and Material Management software for construction, so we’ll continue to improve our product to solve more pain for customers, expand sales/marketing efforts, and look to grow our customer base of construction contractors.”

Salvador co-founded DigiBuild alongside Chief Customer Officer April Moss, a market and retail strategy veteran, and VP of Engineering Ivan Franco, a blockchain expert, in 2018. DigiBuild took part in the summer 2021 batch of Y Combinator.

The startup’s main product, DigiProcure, is a material management and procurement tool that automates administrative processes for contractors. DigiBuild’s platform enables users to search, filter, and compare various aspects of a project’s timeline. The idea is that these advanced data insights will help reduce waste and fraud.

The blockchain aspect of the platform enables companies to more easily collaborate. Salvador, who comes from a family of contractors and has worked as one himself, noted that the typical project creates 750,000 documents. “Each different business party has a different version of the same paperwork,” he said. Moving this all onto the blockchain will create a single source of truth – streamlining and digitizing this mountain of paperwork.

DigiBuild currently has nine full-time employees. This funding will enable the startup to hire a business development manager to help the company work with more construction companies and industry partners. While DigiBuild is a remote-first company, Salvador signaled that the startup hopes to find a Miami-based candidate since their headquarters are here.

Salvador moved to Miami a year ago and hasn’t looked back. “We were drawn by the growing tech scene, strong & business friendly economy, amazing weather, and we were sick of states like Illinois that restricted business, freedom, and opportunity,” he said. “We wanted to be part of the next U.S. tech hub, and that is Miami. It has been worthwhile, and we’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Miami is increasingly becoming a hub for Y Combinator-backed startups, including Papa, Career Karma, QuickNode, Finnt and Pigeon Loans. Construction is also a key focus in the Miami tech scene, with innovators working to improve planning processes, develop digital IDs, provide financing for construction professionals, and more.

READ MORE ON REFRESH MIAMI:

• Togal.AI lands top prize at eMerge, enabling growth of construction planning platform
• Miami-born Pigeon Loans joins Y Combinator to grow online peer-to-peer lending platform
• Papa, the eldertech unicorn, stands on shoulders of pioneers to help build Miami into ‘the epicenter of healthtech’
• Career Karma is upskilling workers – and uplifting communities along the way
• Virtual Badge lands $120,000 to further develop digital ID platform
• The sky’s the limit for construction companies using Flexbase’s new credit card

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Riley Kaminer

I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.

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