PlaneraA construction technology startup that offers scheduling and planning software for commercial construction projects has raised $13.5 million in a new funding round.
General contractors typically use legacy software like Oracle Primavera P6 to manage commercial construction projects. These solutions require technical know-how and don’t have an intuitive interface, but contractors still use them for their complex, multi-phase, multi-year projects. For smaller projects, they sometimes opt for a generic tool like Microsoft Project. However, these tools weren’t designed with the requirements of a construction company in mind.
The San Jose-based startup combines the best of both worlds by offering a standalone software platform that helps contractors schedule and plan their long- and short-term projects using a digital whiteboard-like interface that supports real-time collaboration. Scheduling is critical to the industry, as construction contracts are highly susceptible to liquid damage and have contractual obligations. Contractors need to meet interim milestones at times, and often use multiple programs to track progress.
With Planera, contractors can collaborate with other contractors involved in the project and get their work done through a single interface.
“The value of Planera lies not only in creating the plan but also in being a great communication tool,” said Nitin Bhandari, co-founder and CEO of Planera, in an exclusive interview.
Planera allows general contractors to draw, analyze, optimize, and schedule their construction plans based on contract terms and obligations. It also includes integrations with popular platforms like AutoDesk and Procore so contractors can sync their schedules without leaving these applications.
Bhandari told TechCrunch that the startup plans to expand the program to include subcontractors, as general contractors often work with subcontractors on specialized work, such as electrical and mechanical work.
“As construction companies modernise other aspects of their business and take advantage of that, they now need to modernise all the important aspects of the business, and scheduling and planning is now definitely part of the focus,” he added.
There are plenty of startups associated with construction, but Planera’s founding team has had some success in the past. Bhandari previously co-founded mobile browser company Skyfire and screen time app ZenScreen, which was later acquired by Life360, before joining Planera in November 2021.
The idea to create Planera came to Bhandari after meeting Saif Lodhi, who ran a general contracting company, California Engineering Contractors, about 30 years ago.
Initially, Lodhi asked Bhandari to help him modernize the construction company. However, after spending a few months, Bhandari discovered that the “timeline is completely broken” in the construction industry. He brought in Eric Swenson, who had been CTO at Skyfire for over a decade, to help him create Planera to solve the problem.
To date, Planera serves over twenty clients who use its software in over 500 live projects.
Planera’s all-equity Series A funding round was led by Sierra Ventures, with participation from Sorenson Capital, Brick and Mortar Ventures, Prudence VC, and Firebolt Ventures.
Bhandari told TechCrunch that 60% of the new funding will be used to invest more in sales and marketing to boost the startup’s market penetration. The remaining 40% will be used for R&D and product development. The startup also plans to integrate AI into construction to bring efficiency to scheduling and planning.
“We will be building our own data models and assistant functionality, which we will start rolling out by the end of the year and early next year,” he said.
Bhandari did not disclose Planera’s total revenue, though he said the startup will grow 5x to 8x from the fourth quarter of last year. The remote culture startup has a workforce of 30 across markets, including some in Bengaluru, India, and plans to expand to 45 to 50 employees in the next six months.