In 2019, Apis Cor entered the Guinness Book of Records by building the world’s largest 3D-printed structure ever in Dubai. Now, its making shares of its innovative tech accessible.
The Melbourne, Florida-based proptech revealed Wednesday it received official Regulation A+ qualification by the SEC to begin offering shares to both accredited and non-accredited investors.
“We are so pleased to reach this milestone in our journey to revolutionize the construction industry,” said Anna Cheniuntai, CEO and Co-Founder of Apis Cor.
Anna, along with her partner Nikita Cheniuntai, founded the company in 2016 after they witnessed a lack of automation in legacy construction systems. The pair went on to develop specialized equipment capable of printing whole buildings completely on site. Since then, the technology has been refined for practical construction applications and can even be leased out to construction firms for personal use.
Apis Cor’s unique robotic arm distributes a concrete mortar of the desired building shape in a matter of days. This allows home builders to build houses faster and cheaper with predictable lead time and budget as well as with better and consistent quality due to less reliance on labor.
To test the limits of the technology, the pair took their robot to Dubai where it built a two-story structure that is now used by the Dubai Municipality. Throughout the experiment, the tech remained fully exposed to the outdoor elements of the United Arab Emirates to examine its durability.
While the project provided a learning experience and identified areas for improvement, it wasn’t just a business model or demo – it was a true testament to what the printer is capable of doing despite conditions that could pose an impediment.
“We’ve been refining the process, fighting to reclaim seconds, then minutes from the overall construction time – leading to increasing gains,” said Anna.
The pair have previously been backed by Alchemist Accelerator, an accelerator that primarily focuses on enterprise companies, and At One Ventures, a funder of eco-friendly startups working to reduce carbon footprints.
In 2019, Apis Cor, along with SEArch+ won first place in the Virtual Construction level of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Centennial Challenge, seeking to create sustainable shelters suitable for the Moon, Mars and beyond.
According to Anna, 3D-printing the walls of a building is only the beginning. The proptech has already launched a number of pilot projects in the US, focused mainly in Florida where the company just launched a showroom that includes their fourth generation robot “Frank” as the store’s greeter.
Now, Apis Cor is accepting reservations for 3D-printed residential homes, with construction projected to start in the first quarter of 2023. The company is also conducting introductory workshops for homebuilders and construction companies.
In a Wednesday release, Anna noted the proptech is working to shave months and even years from construction times to help people who are most at-need for housing, and for people who can’t afford to wait.
“We’re creating fully autonomous equipment that can print buildings on Earth and beyond,” said Anna. “The construction revolution has begun.”