Kochi-based home building solutions provider BuildNext on Thursday said it has secured pre-Series A funding of $3.5 million (around Rs 27.3 crore) led by Madhumala Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pidilite Industries.
BuildNext plans to use the fresh funds to strengthen its virtual reality technology experience centres and expand its footprints into Bengaluru, Chennai and Coimbatore.
The round also saw participation from existing investors including Konglo Ventures, Vineet Kumar (chief executive officer of Native) and Deep Gupta (founder of FatEngine), among others.
“We have made significant progress in research about designing and building better homes. We have developed objective parameters to decide how good a home design is and these are put to test repeatedly every day for continuous improvement. With decades of leadership in the space, Pidilite’s guidance on this journey will be a huge asset for us and will enable us to move ahead with confidence,” said Gopikrishnan V, co-founder and CEO of BuildNext.
Incorporated in 2015 by IIM Bangalore alumni, Gopikrishnan V and Finaz Naha, BuildNext started providing branded home building solutions to customers in Kerala and Hyderabad since November 2019.
“Pidilite’s faith in us is a strong reinforcement of our vision and plans. These funds will help us establish a strong presence in South India, and help us achieve our goal of adding over 1000 homes to our current portfolio,” said Finaz Naha, co-founder and chief operating officer, BuildNext.
“BuildNext’s vision to use technology to improve customer experience has the potential to transform the home construction market,” said Apurva Parekh, executive director, Pidilite Industries.
Pidilite is a listed company that manufactures adhesives and glues. It has six manufacturing locations in the country and its brands include Fevicol, MSeal, Dr.Fixit and Fevikwik.
In February 2020, Mumbai-based Pidilite has acquired a 70% stake in Tenax India Stone Products Pvt. Ltd (Tenax India), the domestic unit of Italian cement and chemicals manufacturer Tenax SPA.
