NC-based building software startup Prescient raises $190M from investors
Prescient, a North Carolina-based startup that makes architectural software, said Monday it has raised $190 million from investors, a significant sum that will be used to expand its presence in the apartment building industry.
Prescient, one of the most valuable startups in North Carolina, makes technology that enables developers to build large parts of apartment buildings off site, allowing for quicker build times.
The company maintains a large manufacturing presence in Mebane, about 23 miles west of Durham in Alamance County.
The company was based in Colorado until 2017, when it relocated to North Carolina after receiving a $2 million incentive package from the state, The News & Observer previously reported.
Until 2019, the company’s executives were based in downtown Durham. However, that office was destroyed by a devastating gas explosion that decimated an entire city block. The company moved most of those employees to an existing office in Charlotte after the explosion.
Between Mebane and Charlotte, the company now employs more than 100 people in North Carolina.
The company has previously raised around $105 million, including $90 million last year, according to venture capital tracker Crunchbase.
The money was raised by two long-term investors in Prescient: Kansas City-based JE Dunn and Connecticut-based investment firm Eldridge.
Prior to this raise, the company sported a valuation of $600 million, The News & Observer previously reported. When asked where the company’s valuation now stands, the company declined to comment.
In a statement, Prescient CEO Magued Eldaief said the company has made great strides since it was founded in 2012.
“Prescient has demonstrated the benefits of its unique proprietary platform over the last eight years, which has provided our customers with an ideal solution to build faster and more economically,” he said in the statement. “The support of Eldridge and JE Dunn is indicative of the strength of our technology, the progress we have made in getting market acceptance for our product, our business strategy and the significant growth opportunity ahead of us.”
In an email, he added Prescient plans to complete 12 building projects this year, up from six last year.
The $190 million sum is one of the largest raises by a North Carolina company in 2021. It has only been bested by Epic Games, which raised $1 billion from investors last month.
North Carolina startups raised a record $3.6 billion in 2020.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 12:31 PM with the headline "NC-based building software startup Prescient raises $190M from investors."
