- Propeller — a 3D mapping and worksite analytics company that builds hardware and software to simplify data capture —announced that it has raised $18 million
Propeller — a 3D mapping and worksite analytics company that builds hardware and software to simplify data capture, processing, and analysis for construction, aggregates, mining, and waste management worksites — announced that it has raised $18 million in Series B funding. This round was co-led by Blackbird and Costanoa Ventures.
After being asked what prompted the decision to seek additional capital, Propeller CEO and co-founder Rory San Miguel cites two major forces at play: capacity to scale at a greater velocity and the launch of a new product called DirtMate. DirtMate — a machine tracking system that collects progress and productivity data in real-time (currently in beta) is well-poised to make its mark on the earthmoving industry upon official release — is projected for Q1 of next year.
Between Q1 to Q2, Propeller experienced a historic uptick in platform engagement with a 40% quarter-over-quarter increase in the number of surveys uploaded to the Propeller Platform. Propeller’s team of 138 people are now powering over 4,000 worksites every month, stretched across over 50 different countries.
Propeller also announced that Roz Buick — a thought leader and advocate for digital transformation in construction who served as Senior Vice President at Trimble for over 24 years — recently joined the Propeller board. Buick ran the heavy civil construction division at Trimble for 9 years and was instrumental in establishing the SITECH channel partners.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our new product DirtMate is the real-time complement to our existing workflow. We’ve taken our existing GPS technology and created a version that’s easy to install on every earthmoving machine. As each machine is moving across the worksite, moving dirt, we track elevations to build surfaces in real-time, within a few centimeters of accuracy. With DirtMate, we move from being a retrospective tracking solution to a solution that can detect issues and suggest improvements in real-time.”
— Propeller CEO and co-founder Rory San Miguel
“Costanoa Ventures has been a proud investor at Propeller from the seed round until today, and are excited to see the significant progress at the company. We initially invested because we saw an enormous opportunity for improvement in the management of large construction and earth moving projects, and believed in the superiority of the Propeller technology. We have continued to invest as we have seen the company emerge as category leaders, operate at high standards of excellence, and show real dedication to their customers. Propeller is firing on all cylinders.”
— Mark Selcow at Costanoa Ventures
“Propeller is one of the fastest-growing companies in our portfolio at a large scale, but more importantly is building a special culture that will allow it to make a large impact for many decades to come. Blackbird is delighted to further empower the mission of Propeller and to allow large earthworks industries to take giant leaps forward by ingraining technology into their core operations.”
— Niki Scevak, partner at Blackbird Ventures
