Dayna Grayson and Rachel Holt, co-founders and general partners of Construct Capital, continue to invest in innovation that some investors may not find all that exciting, but which ensures that our food is delivered to grocery shops every week and that our products arrive when they say they would. And this time, they have a much larger financial arsenal to back them up. The firm was created in 2020 by the two partners, who came from NEA and Uber, respectively, and closed their first fund of $140 million last year.
Construct announced $300 million in additional capital for its second vehicle this week, with $225 million targeted for early-stage (leading or co-leading seed and Series A) prospects and $75 million for later-stage possibilities. This brings the firm’s total assets under management to $440 million at this moment. Grayson, Holt, and their team invest in firms in and around the industrial, transportation, and logistics industries, which “represent over half of our country’s GDP and have not been tech-enabled,” according to them.
To put it in perspective, most of this has been fueled by consumer demand in recent years, ranging from food delivery, which is a $150 billion sector, to e-commerce in general, which is expected to reach $1 trillion in value within the decade. Because of the epidemic, both are being swiftly embraced. As a result, the supply chain has become congested, highlighting “cracks in the foundation,” as it were.
Not to mention factories and major industrial enterprises that is experiencing manpower and material shortages. Grayson believes that the supply chain of the future will be more of a “hub-and-spoke” system than a true “chain.” She also points out that there is no better moment than now to invest in the necessary building blocks and infrastructure to propel the next generation of technological firms. “These are locations where there has been chronic underinvestment,” Holt continued.
“Given the current economic climate, the pandemic, and the geopolitical scenario, we must establish a tech infrastructure in these areas so that they can be more nimble and responsive to where customers are going, not where they have been.” The first fund invested in 15 startups, and Grayson and Holt estimate that the second fund will invest in roughly 20 enterprises. ChargeLab, Chef, Hadrian, Tradeswell, Veho, Verve Motion, and Woflow are among the startups in Construct’s portfolio.
