Saudi-based contech Wakecap acquires Silicon Valley-based Crews by Core

👷 WakeCap, Saudi-based construction management and IoT platform, has acquired Silicon Valley-based Crews by Core, who are building a Trello equivalent for the global construction industry.

Founded in 2017 by Hassan Albalawi and Ishita Kochhar, WakeCap's product collects data through a knob that attaches to a standard hard hat worn by site workers and pipes data into an app for tracking hours, progress, and safety.

• They’re currently being used by crews on over 30 mega sites and "gigaprojects" in Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Crews by Core, was founded in 2019, by Di-Ann Eisnor, who previously led Waze as director of growth through their $1.3 billion acquisition by Google.

• Crews by Core had raised $11 million from investors, before exiting early in the interest of, according to Eisnor, scaling faster.

🏗️ Set the scene

Selling to the fragmented construction industry is tough, with many suppliers and subcontractors using different technologies.

This slows sales growth, making it hard for startups to generate revenue and attract venture capital.

The construction tech sector has fewer high-growth companies compared to other industries, with many stuck around $10 million in ARR due to decentralisation.

🤝 The deal

Earlier this year, Eisnor sought to surpass growth limitations for Crews by Core.

At the FIII Priority Summit in Riyadh, she met WakeCap's Albalawi.

They discovered their companies had complementary products and goals: Albalawi wanted to expand in the U.S., and Eisnor aimed to penetrate the Saudi market.

⚙️ Break it down

The acquisition is an all-stock deal, with Eisnor staying on as chief strategy officer and Crews by Core's CTO, Gene Gutnik, now leading tech for the combined company. 

🔮 Flashforward

WakeCap will open an R&D headquarters in Silicon Valley to strengthen its global construction tech leader position.