Coatue and Robert Downey Jr. Fund Cove.tool for Sustainable Building Design

Sustainable Building Design: The Role of cove.tool

Integrating sustainable technologies into building projects can often present significant challenges. However, the initial design phase offers a crucial opportunity to prioritize environmental responsibility.

cove.tool: A Platform for Sustainable Design

cove.tool, an Atlanta-based startup, is dedicated to ensuring sustainability is a core component of building design from the very beginning. Having recently secured $30 million in Series B funding, spearheaded by Coatue, the company asserts its software facilitated the avoidance of five times more carbon emissions than Tesla in 2021.

Robert Downey Jr.’s FootPrint Coalition contributed to this financing round, alongside existing investors like Mucker Capital, Urban Us, and Knoll Ventures. According to CEO and co-founder Sandeep Ahuja, this was a pre-emptive round, bringing the total funding raised to $36.5 million.

How cove.tool Works

As a B2B SaaS provider, cove.tool empowers architects and contractors to input project specifics and site details. The platform then delivers recommendations for optimizing elements such as daylighting, HVAC systems, solar integration, and material selection.

Leveraging the power of machine learning, cove.tool is engineered to enable architects, engineers, and contractors to assess a comprehensive array of building performance metrics while simultaneously reducing construction expenses.

Addressing the Carbon Footprint of Buildings

“Our fundamental purpose is to diminish carbon emissions within the built environment, considering that buildings account for approximately 40% of all carbon emissions,” explained Ahuja to TechCrunch. “cove.tool aims to simplify the processes of material selection and building simulation, allowing professionals to choose superior material alternatives that are both low-carbon and cost-effective.”

Growth and Adoption

The beta version of cove.tool’s software was launched in August 2017. Currently, over 25,000 projects are utilizing the software in their construction phases – encompassing warehouses, data centers, and office buildings.

The platform boasts a user base exceeding 15,000 individuals across 30 countries, including architects, engineers, contractors, and building product manufacturers like HDR, AECOM, Skanska, and Stora Enso.

Impact and Future Plans

“By facilitating data-driven design through streamlined, automated analysis, cove.tool is contributing to a sustainable and efficient built world in the fight against climate change,” Ahuja stated.

The company reports offsetting 28.5 million tons of carbon this year, equivalent to the impact of planting and nurturing 450 million trees for a decade. The newly acquired capital will be allocated to expanding the product suite, growing the 60-person team, and providing carbon reduction analysis for the architecture, engineering, and construction sectors.

Competitive Advantage

Ahuja identifies the company’s primary competitors as consulting firms that perform similar analyses manually.

“Our key advantage lies in democratizing access to data and achieving results in as little as 30 minutes, a process that previously required 2-4 weeks,” she added.

Profitability and Expansion

While currently not profitable, Ahuja indicates the company could achieve profitability by pausing its scaling efforts.

“In the coming months, we will broaden our product offerings, integrating with the AEC ecosystem to enhance the accessibility of performance data. We recognize that the carbon challenge is fundamentally a data problem,” she explained to TechCrunch. “Through API frameworks, we can streamline the analysis and sharing of building data among professionals involved in the design and construction process, fostering collaboration and improving project outcomes.”

Plans also include expanding sales and marketing initiatives within the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the EU.

Industry Perspectives

Robert Downey Jr., founder of FootPrint Coalition, highlighted that the construction and operation of buildings contribute to 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“cove.tool tackles this significant issue by integrating energy efficiency, design principles, and material selection transparency,” he commented via email. “It exemplifies a scalable business leveraging machine learning and responsible leadership to genuinely build a better future.”

David Cahn, a Partner at Coatue, expressed his firm’s belief that sustainable construction represents one of the most critical environmental challenges of our time.

“Cove’s software-driven approach has the potential to simplify and improve the sustainability of architectural practices,” he stated via email.