Project Frog catches $22m to expand smart-building kit sales
Project Frog, a San Francisco-based business that offers a system for building efficient, prefabricated and sustainable structures, has secured a $22-million investment to help it expand its sales pipeline and fulfill orders.
Led by GE’s Energy Financial Services, the investment round was also joined by Claremont Creek Ventures, Greener Capital Partners and RockPort Capital Partners. The amount contributed by each investor was not disclosed.
“We make the complicated and lengthy process of new construction faster and easier for our customers by providing a kit of high precision, sustainable parts that are optimized based on the structure’s size, use and location,” said Ann Hand, CEO of Project Frog.
The company uses advanced performance modeling to analyze how its buildings will perform in each location, allowing owners to optimize a building kit to match their desired performance. The kits are delivered to project sites ready for assembly, and typically take one to six months to construct — less than half the time required for traditional construction. According to Project Frog, its buildings use at least 25 percent less energy than structures meeting the strictest codes in the US. In certain parts of the country, that figure can be as high as 80 percent less.
Project Frog’s commercial building systems are designed for schools, government agencies, healthcare offices, retail space and other uses.
Along with investing in the company, GE plans to put up a Project Frog building at its John F. Welch Leadership Development Center, with completion expected by the end of this year. Established in 1956, the Learning Center is also known as “Crotonville.” The Project Frog building is part of a broader effort by GE rethink Crotonville to support 21st century learning through a new curriculum, redesigned facilities and updated learning strategies.
GE’s investment in Project Frog is part of the second phase of its ecomagination Challenge, an initiative to identify ways to improve energy efficiency through new technologies.
