Pioneering Consultancy Aimed to Solve the “Missing Middle” in the Built Environment by Connecting Technologies With Adopters to Increase Productivity and Meet Sustainability Commitments

NEW YORK, NY — September 7, 2023 — Overlay Capital, an asset manager investing in venture and private equity with a focus on overlooked and hard-to-access opportunities in sustainable technologies that will drive tomorrow’s economy, has launched a new business, Overlay Build. Overlay Build provides digital transformation consulting for technology adopters in the built environment, such as real estate owners, including large multinational corporates, contractors and real estate developers in need of innovative digital technology solutions. Overlay Build will help clients identify solutions that can address their project needs, develop adoption and implementation strategies at an organizational and project level, and track the financial and impact ROI of technologies.

Overlay Build will be led by Julieta Moradei, who has joined Overlay Capital Build as Managing Partner. Ms. Moradei is a structural engineer and architect turned social entrepreneur and venture capitalist. She brings significant experience investing in early-stage startups to mitigate the biggest barriers in the built environment. Leveraging her unique path from technical design to VC, Ms. Moradei has been hyper-focused for over a decade on innovation in the construction industry and empowering entrepreneurs through catalytic pilot projects and partnerships.

Overlay Build seeks to address the gap between the increased supply of construction technologies and the unmet demand of adopters, a “missing middle” in the built environment. The construction industry is valued at $22T in 2022 but is the second least digitized industry. While construction tech investment is increasing, with U.S. construction technology investor funding growing to nearly $5.4B YTD in 2023, new technologies are required to solve unprecedented challenges for adopters, such as a backlog of projects, increased costs due to rework, labor shortages and material volatility.

“While there has been an increase in the supply of construction tech solutions in the past decade, the biggest barrier is the lack of adoption by builders. We call this ‘the missing middle’ — the gap between the increased supply of construction technologies and the unmet demand of construction technology adopters,” said Ms. Moradei. “Overlay Build aims to solve the missing middle by providing digital transformation consulting to enable catalytic pilot projects and track financial and impact ROI. Overcoming the adoption barrier will solve three critical market needs: increase productivity, decrease the carbon footprint of corporate adopters, and develop a strong ecosystem of technology adopters and case studies to drive future adoption.”

Overlay Build anticipates that in the future, it will also offer project financing and venture investing opportunities for technologies to enable catalytic pilot projects, such as construction tech, prop tech, climate tech and more.

“Overlay Build offers the possibility of creating an even larger ecosystem of customers for other venture funds’ portfolio companies to scale the adoption of new technologies across the built environment through catalytic partnerships,” added Ms. Moradei. “Through partnerships with other funds in the built environment, Overlay Build will act as an external arm of portfolio value-add for funds. This ecosystem also gives us information on which portfolio companies are performing best, acting as a feedback loop to our investment team as they continue to identify investment opportunities.”

Meeting the growing need among multinationals to achieve net zero commitments

Overlay Build also provides a much-needed solution for companies seeking ways to meet their emissions reduction commitments. While more than a third of the world’s largest corporates are now committed to net zero, only 7% are on track to make their 2030 goals. Moreover, new regulations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, due to go into effect in Q3 2023, require ESG reporting. Currently, the built environment is responsible for nearly 40% of carbon emissions. By helping adopters switch over to new technologies, Overlay Build is posed to play a vital role in assisting adopters to reach their net-zero targets.

Available technologies include sustainable materials that can replace traditional cement, which accounts for 8% of carbon emissions; new hardware such as robotics that increase productivity and reduce waste; and new kinds of software that create a marketplace for sustainable materials and tracking the carbon footprint of each material for aid in ESG reporting.

Overlay Build has already signed on two multinational corporate clients, including a Fortune 100 company that seeks ways to access new construction technologies from start-ups. These corporates have ambitious 2030 sustainability goals to decarbonize their real estate footprints and believe they will only achieve these carbon goals and productivity gains through digital transformation. Timing is critical as the construction industry is under-digitized and faces unprecedented challenges, including a backlog of projects, increased costs due to rework, labor shortages and material volatility, all affecting sustainability requirements.

“Our north star at Overlay Capital is capturing the investment opportunity in sustainable technologies that will reshape industries and drive our economy for generations to come,” said Brett Wayman, Managing Partner of Overlay Capital.” Like Overlay Capital, Overlay Build is heavily influenced by the idea of establishing a community that connects sustainable innovations with investors and other stakeholders who can help these businesses grow.”

“Build supports the growth and scalability of our portfolio companies and adds a support component beyond just operational advice and financial support. Connecting these companies with adopters helps us achieve a higher level of success and decreases the execution risk those companies currently face. We are delighted to welcome Julieta to the team and are excited about this opportunity.”

To learn more about Overlay Build, we encourage construction tech, prop tech and climate tech entrepreneurs and adopters to contact Julieta Moradei at julieta@overlaycapital.com.

About Overlay Capital
Overlay Capital is a US-based asset manager investing in venture and private equity across the sustainable technology spectrum from innovation to infrastructure, with a focus on overlooked and hard-to-access opportunities. We seek to capture the opportunity driving the mega-trend toward sustainable technologies that will reshape industries and propel our economy for decades to come, with a commitment to superior risk-adjusted returns. For more information, please visit us at www.overlaycapital.com.

Media Contact:
Katy Wilner
Confluence Partners
424-207-7332
kwilner@confluencepartners.com