Last year, OpenSpace made waves with their AI-backed 360 degree photo documentation systems. Used primarily by the construction industry, the technology captures jobsite imagery via a hardhat-mounted 360 camera while performing other tasks, freeing up time and manpower usually dedicated to documentation tasks. In this latest round of funding from Menlo Ventures, OpenSpace has announced a $15.9M Series B funding round that brings their total funding to $33.3M.
The surge in fundraising comes in response to a parallel increase in demand for OpenSpace’s products. The company reports a 500% increase in revenue year over year. Since launching in 2018, OpenSpace’s customers have captured more than a billion (yes, billion, with a ‘b’) square feet of jobsite imagery.
The system is deceptively simple: workers attach a small 360° camera to their hard hat, mark their starting point on the OpenSpace app, and then walk the site as normal. OpenSpace’s software automatically handles imagery capture. After the data is uploaded, it organizes the images, pins them to the correct location on the floorplan, and stitches them together—with no additional manual input needed. Customers can virtually walk through a site using the latest imagery, see how sites have changed over time, add notes and change requests, compare site photos side-by-side with their BIM, and more.
The hands-free collection of 3D imagery has allowed for a lot of time saved – according to the release, customers have reported that the OpenSpace platform is 20 times faster and more complete than their former, manual site capture procedures.
For processing, the company’s AI-powered Vision Engine has reduced the times required for image processing – OpenSpace users typically get results in 15 minutes, compared to hours or even days with other platforms. Further expanding its product offerings, OpenSpace recently launched ClearSight, a new suite of analytics tools, which include AI-powered features like Object Search and Progress Tracking.
Jeevan Kalanithi, OpenSpace’s CEO and co-founder says that in addition to speed, safety and reducing the burden on already taxed construction professionals is the goal.
“At OpenSpace, we believe that the future of real estate and construction will include more remote collaboration and review, saving on time and travel by bringing the jobsites to the experts, instead of the other way around. Builders play a critical role in our society, and we frankly too often take them for granted. We’re proud to help make their jobs easier, whether that’s by automating site documentation or by offering analytics about job progress.”
