Investing in startup businesses
AF Gruppen and OBOS is establishin a joint venture effort in building and construction - Construct Venture AS. The first investment Construct Venture will be made in the company Spacemaker. The Norwegian startup has developed a solution based on artificial intelligence to optimise land utilisation in property development. Both OBOS and AF are Spacemaker customers and have made an active contribution in the test phase of product development.
Spacemaker is the first investment, but in time the goal is that Construct Venture acquires a portfolio of growth companies that play a part in changing how the industry works.
“We are very pleased to welcome AF and OBOS as investors in Spacemaker. Their significant presence in the property and building and construction industries is extremely valuable for the development of our current and future products,” says CEO Håvard Haukeland of Spacemaker.
Knowledge, customers and capital
With investments in startups, AF Gruppen and OBOS will contribute to establish a smarter and more future-oriented supplier industry in building and construction that also gives the industry competitiveness. The partnership is industrially supported based on smart capital, where the two players can contribute with industry expertise, processes and well-functioning systems, in addition to financial strength. At the same time the companies are making their projects available for trialling the technology and testing the concepts on a large scale.
“Not only will Construct Venture be an attractive investor for startups in our sector, but as major players in the industry we also want to contribute with our industrial expertise in the value chain. This will give young and interesting business concepts directed at our sector a unique opportunity,” says CEO Daniel Siraj of OBOS.
The industry’s first corporate venture
Construct Venture is primarily directed at companies that are in an early commercialisation stage, with products or services in a final test phase and a clear customer base. The catchment area is not limited to Nordic companies, players in other geographies who see a potential in partnering with Norwegian players are considered. The precondition is that the investment can contribute to a better building and construction industry, which makes AF and OBOS’ effort unique.
“Our partnership with OBOS will become an important source of financing of business ideas that are necessary to drive the industry forward in a better and more sustainable direction. At AF we have employed our curiosity for more than 30 years to identify good solutions that contribute to rationalise and develop our work. With current technological developments we also believe that many solutions will have to come from outside, and Construct Venture will contribute to realising such solutions,” says CEO Morten Grongstad of AF Gruppen.
The entrepreneurial community on board
As a stage in innovation work, OBOS and AF Gruppen have also entered into a partnership with StartupLab, en entrepreneurial community consisting of more than 350 entrepreneurs from 80 startups. Here startups help each other succeed while also giving larger, established companies the opportunity to speed up their innovation processes. AF and OBOS represent the building, construction and real estate sectors in this community, and the partnership will also give Construct Venture the opportunity to identify relevant investment targets early.
For more information
Executive Vice President Andreas Jul Røsjø, AF Gruppen, andreas.rosjo@afgruppen.no / +47 481 96 998
Executive Vice President Morten Aagenæs, OBOS, m.aagenes@obos.no / +47 908 82 026
CEO Håvard Haukeland, Spacemaker, havard@spacemaker.ai / 926 21 580