Ediphi emerges out of stealth with $6.5m funding to equip estimators with a platform to streamline preconstruction

Ediphi, the advanced cloud-based estimating solution on the market, announced it has secured $6.5 million in seed funding. Ediphi is the only truly cloud-based platform that excels at conceptual and detailed cost estimating, with procurement centralized in a single location. The funding comes from Suffolk Technologies, a venture capital platform funding the next generation of companies solving built environment challenges. Suffolk Technologies is the venture capital affiliate of Suffolk, one of the nation's largest and most innovative builders and Ediphi's first customer. The funds will be used to further develop the platform, scale the business, and recruit additional staff.

In preconstruction, moving from project concept to target value design can be expensive and time-consuming. Construction estimators are increasingly asked to get involved at the conceptual stage when design details are still being formed. This early engagement requires multiple design revisions and cost estimating exercises that are inefficient and fail to leverage the institutional knowledge built up from previous projects and across team members.

With Ediphi, contractors can begin preconstruction by pricing a "napkin sketch." The platform allows for early collaboration between design teams and contractors to price evolving designs, propose value engineering options, and transition to detailed cost estimates from quantity take-offs. It allows estimators to compare cost models with past projects, price the entire project's general conditions and general requirements, level bids against budgets, award subcontractors, and execute contracts—all within a single cloud-based platform. In sum, Ediphi allows construction estimators to:

• Centralize cost estimate data in the cloud
• Drive conceptual and detailed cost estimates
• Connect preconstruction workflows in a single location
• Accelerate preconstruction and win more profitable work

The tool is already garnering positive feedback and attracting big-name clients. "I recently did a study comparing our estimating team's performances from pre-Ediphi to now," explained Scott Menard, National Director of Preconstruction at Suffolk. "We increased revenue per estimator by $20 million and the return on investment was 1,900 percent. I've never seen anything like that. This is the tool our estimators have been waiting for."

Prior to co-founding Ediphi, CEO Dustin DeVan spent six formative years as a general contractor. That experience deepened his passion for the construction industry and ignited his ambition to improve preconstruction. Following that calling, he founded BuildingConnected, a preconstruction platform that was eventually acquired by Autodesk for $275 million. DeVan is joined by CTO Michael Navarro, a 20-year veteran of preconstruction and operations, and the chief architect behind the Ediphi platform.

"After looking at the market, we realized there were no cloud-based solutions capable of handling both conceptual and detailed cost estimating," said DeVan. "It was clear there was a need for a tool that could make collaboration easier among stakeholders in the early phases of construction projects. Ediphi is going to transform estimating from a one-time event to an ongoing, knowledge-rich and collaborative process."

www.ediphi.com