State of
Built World Tech
A new normal for
built world tech
built world tech
In our State of Built World Tech 2024 market analysis we track the resilience of built world tech venture funding relative to other tech verticals. An annual funding fall of 7% this year outperforms sectors like fintech and climate tech, underpinned by growth in key sub-sectors like grid tech and industrial automation.
$21tn
of real estate value at risk
More than $21tn of global residential and commercial real estate alone is at risk of valuation write downs due to stranding risk, comprising both physical risk (extreme weather) and transition risk (e.g. regulatory compliance and capital market adjustments).
More than $21tn of global residential and commercial real estate alone is at risk of valuation write downs due to stranding risk, comprising both physical risk (extreme weather) and transition risk (e.g. regulatory compliance and capital market adjustments).
Source: McKinsey
$94tn
to retrofit the built world
Combined, over $94tn will need to be spent to achieve a net zero built world by 2050, with $41tn spent on buildings alone. In Europe, 80% of the building stock that will stand in 2050 has already been constructed, making the retrofitting of existing buildings through energy efficiency and electrification measures key.
Combined, over $94tn will need to be spent to achieve a net zero built world by 2050, with $41tn spent on buildings alone. In Europe, 80% of the building stock that will stand in 2050 has already been constructed, making the retrofitting of existing buildings through energy efficiency and electrification measures key.
Source: noa analysis, McKinsey, World GBC, EU Commission
$187tn
in new construction
A rising global population and growing urbanisation will see $187tn spent on the construction of new built world assets from 2024-2050. Distribution will vary geographically: 80% of existing buildings in Europe may be standing in 2050 but 80% of the African building stock is not yet built. Prioritising carbon neutral or negative development will be critical.
A rising global population and growing urbanisation will see $187tn spent on the construction of new built world assets from 2024-2050. Distribution will vary geographically: 80% of existing buildings in Europe may be standing in 2050 but 80% of the African building stock is not yet built. Prioritising carbon neutral or negative development will be critical.
Source: McKinsey, UNEP, World GBC
Built world tech remains resilient
Over a longer time period, funding growth for climate themes in the built world have outperformed not only the wider venture capital market, but also overall climate tech. A drop in funding for broader climate tech has been mirrored in built world funding this year, owing to the sector's high climate tech exposure. Following the highs of 2021/22 and a 24% fall in funding last year, 2024 funding rounds confirm a new normal for built world tech venture investment.
All VC
YoY
4%
3yr CAGR
-22%
5yr CAGR
1%
Fintech
YoY
-11%
3yr CAGR
-29%
5yr CAGR
0%
Built World
All
YoY
-7%
5yr CAGR
-12%
5yr CAGR
-5%
Climate Themes
YoY
-1%
3yr CAGR
5%
5yr CAGR
32%
Clean Mobility
YoY
-20%
3yr CAGR
-25%
5yr CAGR
-12%
Climate
YoY
-13%
3yr CAGR
-17%
5yr CAGR
14%
Tracking this year's fastest growing investment themes
At Pre-Seed and Seed, building operations robotics, renewables financing, and retrofit installer tech have attracted the most capital in 2024. New entrants in 2024 include small modular nuclear reactors, which experienced a 6x increase in year on year funding. Meanwhile, carbon credit platforms (across verification, transactions, and insurance) have seen the greatest growth in the number of early stage deals over a three year basis.
Legend
Building Electrification
Industrial Automation
Built World Finance
Building to Grid
Risk Management
3 year deal volume CAGR for Pre-Seed and Seed deals
Retrofit installer tech
Last year saw retrofit installer tech the most funded built world tech theme. In 2024, overall retrofit installer tech venture dollars are down 66% year-on-year, driven by market reaction to rebate uncertainty and a fall in European energy prices from the peak of the energy crisis. Notably, Pre-Seed and Seed dollars have continued to scale, growing 89% year-on-year. Amid declines in key markets such as the UK (-67%), France (-43%), and the US (-34%), Germany is an outlier. Despite a 89% fall in venture dollars across all deal stages, Pre-Seed and Seed funding has grown 156% this year.
8%
Building operations robotics
Innovations in AI hardware and software have seen the time to market and cost profile of robotics manufacturing reduce significantly. In 2024, we are starting to see increasingly positive economics across warehousing, cleaning and logistics - with an uptick in the volume of venture funding rounds to reflect this.
39%
Renewables financing
As distributed energy resources scale beyond the initial wave of adopters, a new generation of start-ups are addressing the significant cost barriers to building energy retrofits. These companies empower retrofit installers to target a much wider range of customers, through leveraging innovative financing models to alleviate upfront costs.
8%
26%
Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs)
The rising energy demands of AI and ongoing electrification are driving renewed interest in controllable renewable energy sources such as nuclear and geothermal. This year has seen significant investment from big tech in SMR hardware to support low carbon data centre development and operations.
Carbon credit platforms
A scaling voluntary carbon market is placing growing focus on tools to drive transparent and efficient markets. With early stage funding in 2023 concentrated in the UK market, 2024 has seen a greater distribution of early stage capital across US, Swiss, and German markets.
79%
European built world tech
contracts in 2024
In 2024, a sharp drop in funding for European built world tech dollars has been concentrated at earlier funding stages, from Pre-Seed to Series B. This marks a step-change with 2023 funding trends, where early stage European dollars reached parity with North America for the first time. Overall, the US continues to be the biggest built world tech market globally, while the UK has returned to second place for venture investment following an outlier funding year for Sweden in 2023. The greatest losses this year are concentrated in Germany, Canada, and China. London continues to see the most deals globally, while Berlin and Toronto have risen up the top 10 ranking this year.
2023
United States
US
$12.8bn
Sweden
SE
$2.4bn
United Kingdom
UK
$2.1bn
Canada
CA
$1.1bn
Germany
DE
$1.7bn
France
FR
$815m
China
CN
$1bn
India
IN
$549m
Switzerland
CH
$258m
Australia
AU
$254m
2024
United States
US
$14.6bn
United Kingdom
UK
$1.9bn
Sweden
SE
$1.1bn
France
FR
$936m
Germany
DE
$947m
China
CN
$733m
Australia
AU
$435m
India
IN
$237m
Switerland
CH
$313m
Canada
CA
$303m
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