Our investment in carbon-negative construction: LEKO Labs

Why we partnered with LEKO Labs’ to support carbon-negative construction: $21 million Series A with 2150, the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund and Tencent.

LEKO Labs is a Luxembourg based carbon negative construction company that has developed a solution for sustainably-sourced wood-based building materials that is able to replace up to 75% of concrete and steel used in a single building, dramatically reducing carbon footprint during construction. Today, they announce a $21 million Series A funding round, in which we accompanied lead investor 2150, the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund and Tencent. As a seed investor, we usually don’t do Series A rounds, but in this case, we’ve made an exception. Here’s why:

LEKO Labs sets a new standard for carbon negative construction with their advanced software and robotics construction solution?

We believe that with the approach of LEKO Labs, the footprint of housing can be dramatically reduced. Currently, 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions can be traced back to housing, with one third coming from raw materials production of concrete and steel and two thirds from heating and cooling buildings. LEKO Labs addresses both of these problems. It uses sustainably sourced materials to create a wall system that is highly insulating and can reduce heating and cooling needs by up to 87% whilst creating more floor space due to thinner wall requirements.?

At Freigeist, we’re looking to support European companies that question the status quo and push innovation for a more sustainable approach to essential challenges such as transportation, energy, food and housing. LEKO Labs’ software platform calculates and optimizes thermal, acoustic and static properties of the buildings, resolving moisture and noise issues typically associated with wooden buildings. Its algorithm optimizes each building, reducing wood usage vs traditional builds by up to 50%, making the best use of the precious natural resource.?

Introducing an automotive style, robotics and software driven approach to the manufacturing of buildings will allow LEKO Labs to deliver more housing space in much shorter time and at higher quality in comparison to traditional construction approaches. This benefits not only construction companies, but also workers who are able to perform their duties in a safe and clean environment.

Former Lilium COO Remo Gerber joins LEKO Labs as CEO

Besides the technology and the positive impact of the potential portfolio company, another important investment criteria for us is the management team. With former Lilium COO Dr. Remo Gerber joining LEKO Labs as CEO, we know that the company will be in great hands. We’ve worked together with Remo for many years and trust his leadership. The current CEO and founder Francois Cordier will be focussing on his CTO role and furthering its groundbreaking sustainable building materials, robotics and software development, which will help lift LEKO Labs to the next level in our eyes.?

Francois Cordier, CTO and Founder at LEKO Labs: “I’m delighted to welcome Remo as our new CEO and our new investors to help deliver our vision towards a more sustainable building sector. Together we have a strong shot on the goal of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions in 2040 by 1% using the LEKO Labs advanced building technology. His experience in scaling companies and capitalising them will be instrumental for the success of the company.”

?Dr. Remo Gerber, CEO at LEKO Labs: “I could not be more excited to join the journey with Francois and the entire LEKO Labs team, it’s such an important and critical mission. We are making a difference today, each of our walls saves several tons of CO2 here and now. By scaling up our solution with automotive robotics we will achieve global impact in the coming years.”

LEKO Labs Series A marks a shift in the interest of Venture Capital Funds in the sustainable building sector

LEKO Labs’ Series A funding round is one of the most substantial capital raises in the sustainable building sector in Europe, an area for a long time underfunded by venture capital investments. We’re very happy to see many outstanding investors like 2150, the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, and Tencent taking the current situation in the construction sector seriously and driving change in this field with their investment. The new funding will enable LEKO Labs to scale its advanced software and robotics construction solution throughout Europe including Germany, the Nordics and the UK, supplying finished walls from its factory in Luxembourg.

“We urgently need to reevaluate the status quo in most of our industries, causing CO2-emissions and global warming and therefore harming our environment. LEKO LABS addresses a sector that is responsible for 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions and offers a solution for more sustainable housing. Considering that the global population is growing and the need for housing will be increasing in the next years, this is a very important area and we are confident, that LEKO will have a global impact.” - Frank Thelen

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LEKO Labs walls are commercially attractive to build with, and when combined with inbuilt insulation can reduce wall thickness by up to 40%, creating more property floor space. Furthermore, usage of the solution can enable total building times to be shrunk by up to 50%, reducing noise and waste at construction sites to a minimum. Thus, building with LEKO Labs is close to carbon-neutral with a commercially superior solution.

The LEKO Labs system can be applied in most building settings, from single-family homes, to apartment or office buildings and industrial warehouses or data centers. It is a commercially attractive solution with one of the lowest carbon footprints possible from the moment the building is completed and throughout the lifetime, with low heating and cooling emissions. So future residents can sleep in peace knowing they built sustainable and corporate organizations have a real solution to help achieve their Net Zero goals.

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