In the year In 2020, I covered how UK start-up Yardlink – which enables construction companies to get critical equipment faster than traditional equipment rental companies – raised a seed round. It was essentially bringing a digital-first, marketplace approach to an industry standard hidden in a gradually centralized hiring market.
Two years later, and Yardlink is back with a $17.5m Series A funding round led by Beringea, with participation from Amplifier, and existing investors Speedinvest and FJ Labs.
From its rental roots, the company has now grown into a full-service supply chain management platform, meaning contractors find suppliers of tools, equipment, bulk materials, fuel, waste management and other services and materials. All can be found, booked and paid for through the platform.
According to Yardlink CEO Niral Shah in a statement: Construction is one of the least digitized industries with over 95% of supply chain transactions still conducted via phone, email and pen and paper. A single digital platform.
Commenting, Maria Wagner, partner at Beringia, added: “Yardlink has the potential to establish itself as a marketplace for building supplies.
In an email, the company told me that its supply chain area is helping to reduce the carbon footprint of construction projects.
Shah has provided commercial financing for construction purchases for years, but saw a gap in the market and launched Yardlink in 2018. It claims to have 3000+ customers now.