Construct Capital Closes $300 Million Fund III to Transform Foundational Industries

Construct Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm backing entrepreneurs transforming Foundational Industries through technology, today announced the successful closing of its $300 million Fund III. With this new fund, the firm will continue its focus on revitalizing sectors ? including manufacturing, logistics and transportation, defense, and energy ? that have been neglected and underfunded for decades.

Launched in 2020 by Co-founders and General Partners Dayna Grayson and Rachel Holt, Construct executes on a concentrated strategy to invest in startups that leverage technologies such as robotics, AI, and automation to reshape Foundational Industries essential to the U.S. economy, producing the goods and services that keep society safe and productive. The firm now has $750M AUM, with 42 investments across the first two funds.

With Fund III, Grayson, formerly a partner at New Enterprise Associates, and Holt, previously an early employee and senior executive at Uber, will continue to address the significant underinvestment in these sectors from venture capitalists, corporations, and governments, to eliminate industrial stagnation and inefficiency.

"Foundational Industries are a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity because technologies of the last 25 years ? let alone the most recent advances in agentic AI, world foundation models, and beyond ? have not been applied to these spaces," said Holt. "Now is the moment to apply these technologies to the massive sectors that have missed the benefits of modern technology."

Early evidence suggests companies in the Foundational Industries drive strong new market opportunities and value creation in the public markets. Tech-first Industrials are growing at 19% ? faster than other Industrials (4%) and Big Tech (11%).

Construct intentionally constrains its fund size to invest with strong conviction in a concentrated set of companies and partners from the early stages with the strongest entrepreneurs rebuilding the industrial sectors. Neither micro VCs nor large, multi-stage VC funds with large portfolios can serve founders at these critical phases with advice that is both stage specific and geared towards large commercial outcomes. With a typical check size of $2M?$10M for Seed to Series A companies, the Construct team aims to invest in around two dozen companies with this latest fundraise. The firm calls their "boutique yet commercial" strategy a model that traditionally drives strong multiples of fund returns.

Construct's new fund was oversubscribed and attracted a strong institutional base of LPs. With Fund III, they grew the subscription from endowments and foundations to be a large majority of the fund, with the remainder coming from large family offices and fund of funds.

"We are grateful to the LPs who have continued to back us and the new, incredible quality partners who find our vision and mission compelling," added Grayson. "We have been operating and investing in these areas for more than a decade and anticipated the opportunities for technology to transform the most important yet neglected sectors of our economy long before they became mainstream. The founders we back will lay the groundwork for a new era of economic resilience."

Construct recognizes the challenges that have stalled Foundational Industries for decades, including aging infrastructure and a growing reliance on international supply chains. The current shortage of skilled workers underscores the need for automation and technological innovation.

Its portfolio includes standout companies leveraging AI and software-defined systems that will streamline and enhance operations, such as:

• Veho: Innovating the logistics space with technology-driven solutions for last-mile delivery for e-commerce, enhancing efficiency and reliability
• Hadrian: A leader in software-defined manufacturing, automating, and streamlining production for precision machined parts
• Copia Automation: A modern software developer operations platform for the industrial world
• Kinetic: Automating digital automotive repair such as ADAS calibration needed to keep vehicles working correctly
• Chef Robotics: An AI and robotics automation system for the food industry
• Vammo: Electrifying Latin America's $100B motorcycle market with battery swapping

By backing bold entrepreneurs devoted to their mission, Construct aims to reshape how Foundational Industries operate and compete to build a vibrant ecosystem where tech-first industrial companies thrive, bolstering domestic capabilities and supporting a sustainable economic future.

About Construct Capital:

Construct Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on transforming Foundational Industries that power half the country's GDP (more than $10T) ? such as logistics and transportation, manufacturing, mobility, and critical infrastructure. These industries are the backbone of our economy and have been underinvested for decades by not only venture capitalists, but also by corporations, governments and in turn, new entrepreneurship. The firm was founded by Dayna Grayson (former partner at NEA) and Rachel Holt (former executive at Uber), who bring a combination of investing and operating experience from the earliest stages through massive scale. The firm manages $750M AUM across three core funds and a select fund after being founded in 2020. For more on Construct's point of view, please visit: https://www.constructcap.com/construct-point-of-view.