GROPYUS, the technology-based and fully vertically integrated construction company specialized in creating affordable and sustainable timber-hybrid buildings, today announces a financing round of around 100 million euros. This means GROPYUS has already raised over 300 million euros in equity investment since its founding in 2019. Existing and new investors are participating in this financing round. GROPYUS was able to attract the Portuguese investment holding company Semapa (semapa.pt) and the US venture capital fund Practical Venture Capital (practicalvc.com). This comes on top of GROPYUS having received approval from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a venture debt loan of 40 million euros in March of this year.
The funds from this financing round will be used for the expansion of its fully digitally operated and flexible robotic smart factory in Richen (Baden-Württemberg), further development of technologies, and realizing the company’s pipeline of construction projects. Markus Fuhrmann, CEO and co-founder of GROPYUS, says: “The climate crisis and the shortage of affordable housing are becoming increasingly acute problems. GROPYUS wants to be part of the solution to these challenges — but that won’t be possible without the industrialization and automation of the construction sector. A high level of capital investment is needed to lay the foundations for this ambitious project. That’s why we are proud to be able to build on the support of our existing investors for our mission, and to have now earned the trust of additional investors. With this financing round, we have reached a total volume of over 300 million euros. We are not only driving our continued expansion, but also placing our mission on even more solid foundations now. This capital will allow us to quickly ramp up volume at our smart factory to full capacity and have several projects rolling off the production line at the same time.”
Ricardo Pires, CEO of Semapa, underscores this confidence: “We believe that GROPYUS — with its innovative, sustainable, and digital concept — is taking building and living to the next level. The company is made up of experts from a wide range of industries, pooling their extensive knowledge and experience in construction, technology, real estate development, and building successful startups, and we are convinced they will be capable of bringing meaningful change across an entire industry in need of transformation. GROPYUS offers a remarkable opportunity for a strained housing market, and we want to support the company’s growth through our investment, joining a team that has the potential to make a decisive difference throughout the whole of Europe.”
Multiple projects across Germany
As a general contractor, GROPYUS is currently working on two projects in Germany. In Berlin, GROPYUS is constructing an apartment building that comprises 27 apartments on behalf of BUWOG Bauträger GmbH, a subsidiary of Vonovia SE. In Immendingen, in the south of Baden-Württemberg, GROPYUS is developing its first residential quarter – nine buildings with a total of 99 apartments. These two very different projects in addition to a strong pipeline underscore the versatility and market viability of the GROPYUS building system.
Production capacity of more than 3,500 apartments per year
The expansion of the GROPYUS plant in Richen into a highly automated and digitally integrated manufacturing site — one of its kind worldwide — is nearing completion. State-of-the-art robotics and automation solutions are key to achieving higher quality at lower cost. It’s both scalable and sustainable, thanks to carefully optimizing the use of materials. Once the expansion is completed at the end of 2024, GROPYUS will be able to manufacture a wall or ceiling element in around 16 minutes – with up to 86 percent automation. The full annual production capacity will then total 250,000 m2 of gross floor area, equivalent to more than 3,500 apartments. All key processes are centralized at GROPYUS — systems control, process definition and optimization, and mechanical engineering — meaning GROPYUS can reasonably expect to be able to raise its production capacity to 300,000 m² gross floor area per year in the future.
About GROPYUS
Founded in 2019, GROPYUS is a technology-based and fully vertically integrated construction company specialized in building innovative multistory residential buildings. Its attractive, affordable, and sustainable building concepts are helping to resolve the housing shortage while realizing a positive environmental impact. GROPYUS delivers its timber-hybrid buildings as a turnkey solution from a single source. The combination of software, technology, construction, robotics, and manufacturing expertise means buildings can be created in a digitalized, highly automated, and industrialized end-to-end process. The flexible, modular building system makes it easier to optimize land use, customize plans, and build fast with both off-site prefabrication and on-site assembly. This system is perfectly complemented by the purpose-built Building Operating System, developed in house. The company employs around 400 employees at its offices in Vienna, Berlin, Steinhaus, and Richen.
GROPYUS was founded by Markus Fuhrmann (co-founder of publicly listed food delivery service Lieferheld/Delivery Hero), Philipp Erler, and Bernd Oswald, among others. GROPYUS has been recognized for its innovative prowess: In 2023, GROPYUS received the PropTech of the Year Award from the German Property Federation (ZIA, Zentraler Immobilien Ausschuss e.V.). In the same year, GROPYUS also won the Ernst & Young Scale-up Award in the PropTech and Real Estate category.
Find out more at: https://www.gropyus.com
Contact
Hermin Charlotte Bartelheimer
Spokesperson / Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing
Email: [email protected]
tel.: +49 151 724 319 68
Join our community of 200,000+ real estate leaders and get weekly insights and updates with our newsletter.
*Offer ends on Friday, 7th February.
