Visual logistics startup SpaceDraft has today announced the successful raise of $1.5 million in a Seed+ round.
This takes the Nedlands-based startup’s total funding to $2.7 million in three years.
The new capital will enable the cloud-based web application to make a significant expansion nationally, assist in further growing its team and launch into several new industries. Dr Tim Haggett, Grant Grosser and Larry Lopez contributed to the round.
Already a well-known Perth startup success story, SpaceDraft enjoys popularity across various sectors including education, transport, events, gaming and resources. The application allows users to accurately create and plan projects in 2D, 3D and 4D on a shareable digital canvas.
The company was previously named as Startup of the Year at the Lateral INCITE awards in WA back in 2020.
From Perth to Hollywood, and back
SpaceDraft was founded by Lucy Cooke in 2016, who had been involved in Hollywood’s visual effects industry, after a stint as a child actor here in Australia.
The idea came about after working on big-budget productions such as Game of Thrones and Pirates of the Caribbean, where she noticed the overly cumbersome pre-visualisation and shot planning process.
“Despite having lots of resources at their fingertips, I watched directors and actors plot out scenes with toy cars and figurines,” said Ms Cook.
It sparked an idea to build a simple platform that could help anyone simulate any situation instantly. I thought if I could show how characters could interact with space over time, significant time and money could be saved. What I didn’t realise was how significant this need was across many industries.
Lucy Cooke, SpaceDraft
The software, which extends from classroom learning to gaming production and wedding planning to mining site coordination, has had tens of thousands of users since launch. Partners include Curtin University, Alcoa Corporation, Fugro, Landgate and several leading independent schools.
“SpaceDraft was started to help people distill complex ideas in a very human way. My goal from day one has been to tell and show stories; to bring to life the who, what, when, where, why and how,” she added.
“We quickly expanded our focus beyond the film and television industry as we found that within every business there were people with different styles trying to create clarity and failing.
“Since then, we’ve gone from strength to strength — particularly in the edtech space. We work closely with a number of schools and their students to help them play out their imaginations.
“They’re using our software to design video games, plan their major works and to challenge their spatial awareness. That’s then transferring to university where students are again using SpaceDraft to virtually communicate their ideas — from how to navigate a submarine to designing hospital evacuation plans.”
Universal praise
Angel investor and the founder of WA health network Apollo Health, Tim Haggett, described Ms Cooke as a “one-in-a-million founder” adding that she “has the vision and the determination needed to make SpaceDraft a true game hanger.”
“Of course, SpaceDraft as a product is also hard to ignore,” he said.
At its most basic it is a very clever communication tool. Look a little deeper and it’s a platform that distills incredibly complex stuff very easily. It enables users to embed deep detail without confusing the core message — which is a hugely valuable offering.
Tim Haggett, Apollo Health
Former SEQTA co-founder, fellow angel investor and SBG Investment Director Grant Grosser added that SpaceDraft has the potential to be the “next Canva or Atlassian”.
“It can be applied to almost any business vertical and solves problems felt within every organisation. Essentially the SpaceDraft platform enables minds’ eyes to meet, which is not something we’ve seen or experienced before.
“We can’t wait to see what Lucy achieves.”
Ms Cooke concluded by saying she was incredibly thankful to the investors on the SpaceDraft journey, and their support means the startup can scale quickly.
“Since our initial seed raise we’ve built a fast, fun and easy to use simulation software that empowers creative conversations with purpose,” she said.
“Today’s investment enables us to accelerate our national growth through additional product development, including launching our mobile app, deeper customer support and to make strong strategic hires. “
