Nodes & Links is a scheduling platform for large-scale infrastructure projects which works out when the nuts and bolts for the bridge (for example) should be delivered, and in what order. Unsurprisingly, complex infrastructure projects often get this wrong. The company has now raised an $11 million Series A funding round led by urban sustainability-focused fund 2150, alongside Zigg Capital and Westerly Winds, with participation from existing investors Entrepreneur First, ADV and Seedcamp.
Launched in 2018, the company’s Aegis platform is used by Balfour Beatty, Costain and BAM Nuttal, and claims to have delivered millions in cost savings on infrastructure projects, because the building materials and assembly ends up being organized in the right order. Given that most major projects run significantly over time and over budget, scheduling correctly can make a huge difference to costs, as well as the impact on the environment.
The company quotes a survey by Oxford University that found that only 8% of infrastructure projects get delivered on time and on budget.
“Complex projects account for over 4% of the world’s GDP, yet only 8% of them complete on budget and on time,” Nodes and Links CEO Greg Lawton said. “This is largely because humans are responsible for all tasks within projects, even the repetitive and complex ones they’re unsuited to, instead of the high-value, creative activities people are uniquely qualified for. By expanding our workforce to include machines, better decisions will be made and better projects delivered. We firmly believe that the work we’re doing is going to have the same impact as automation did in manufacturing and this new investment will help us accelerate its adoption for the common good.”
Nodes & Links competes with large infrastructure software such as Oracle Primavera, as well as plain old Excel spreadsheets, for obvious reasons.
“The world is accelerating its investment into linear infrastructure, much of it with a focus on sustainability and resilience,” Christian Hernandez, Partner at 2150 said. “Time is the biggest lever available to ensure that trillions of dollars of projects starts delivering benefits to our planet and Nodes & Links has proven that they can help large and complex engineering projects deliver on that.”