Google X spinoff Flux raises $8 million
The company was once part of the secretive Google X research division but is now going solo as it tries to radically revamp building-construction software.
Flux, once part of secretive research division Google X, has raised $8 million in a Series A funding round.
Venture capital firm DFJ led the round, Flux said Tuesday. Borealis Ventures also participated. Flux plans to use the investment to continue developing and testing its collaborative-design software for the building construction industry before its official launch set for early 2015.
Flux was founded by four employees from Google X, a division that seeks to create new technologies that some call "moonshots." The founders started their separate work two years ago in San Francisco.
"One of our earliest project teams at Google[x] explored the area of building design to see if there were ways that technology could lead to improvements in things like speed, cost savings, or even encouraging environmentally friendly buildings," a Google spokesperson said in a statement to CNET on Tuesday. "Ultimately a subset of this team left Google and set up a separate company dedicated to exploring this area further."
Flux is building collaborative software that combines the owner's business goals with the facility's environmental impact, cost, and lifecycle. The idea, according to the company, is to construct more sustainable buildings that reduce energy consumption and ultimately address the negative effects of cost and environmental issues that arise as buildings age.
In addition to DFJ and Borealis Ventures, the company's backers include Google Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.
(Via Recode)