Construction tech startup Dataform Lab raised a £1.1M seed round which will be used to invest in offsite construction via its software platform. The round was led by led by Marathon Venture Capital.

The construction industry in the UK is facing pressure to increase efficiency due to widespread housing shortages. Offsite manufacturing, which involves assembling buildings in factories rather than on-site, pledges to deliver buildings that are both cheaper and faster to build without sacrificing quality. As a result, a significant portion of new buildings worldwide are constructed offsite.

Dataform argues that automation is still underutilised within the industry. In many advanced offsite manufacturing facilities, work remains predominantly manual, and translating designs into production information is a lengthy process. Design and manufacturing are usually disconnected, leading to significant efficiency losses.

DataForm Lab’s platform allows manufacturers to create, simulate, and compare automated production line designs. The company works with offsite manufacturers in the UK and Nordics. Its platform, which is both material and sector agnostic, is utilised by manufacturers of 3D and 2D timber and steel systems to complete housing, commercial, educational, and hospitality projects. 

Founder Eva Magnisali commented: “We are here to challenge the current industry perceptions about digitalization and automation. Our mission is to increase capacity in construction by optimising the manufacturing performance of offsite factories. Once the day-to-day design-to-manufacturing workflows are automated, the integration of manufacturing automation technologies becomes the obvious, de-risked next step.”

George Tziralis, partner at Marathon Venture Capital, added: “Our buildings are still being constructed manually, not produced by machines; automation is still nowhere to be seen in one of the largest sectors of the economy. Eva brings a rare blend of practical experience across design, manufacturing and robotics, along with a relentless drive to put automation at work. We are excited to work together and help bring her vision forward.”