- Female-founded construction tech startup Scopey Onsite secures €523k funding across Australia, Ireland and UK markets
- Platform uses AI to convert WhatsApp messages and voice notes from construction sites into structured data records
- Founded in Australia in 2022 by Jenna Farrell and Gillian Laging, with headquarters later moved to Ireland while maintaining Australian presence
- Pre-seed funding round led by SFC Capital, with additional support from Enterprise Ireland
- Software aims to reduce construction project disputes and risks by enabling real-time site event capture and documentation through chat-based workflows
A pair of local women have entered two notoriously difficult spaces, early-stage start-ups, and the construction industry, to land €523k for their agentic software platform in Australia, Ireland and the UK.
Scopey Onsite will help construction teams on building sites more easily capture and manage critical project information, using AI to turn WhatsApp messages and voice notes from busy teams into structured records and data for the office.
Initially founded in Australia by CEO Jenna Farrell and COO Gillian Laging in 2022.
They moved their HQ to Ireland when Ms Farrell relocated with her family and Irish-born husband, where Scopey Onsite secured support from Enterprise Ireland as well as UK funding. They have maintained an active Australian presence with Ms Laging remaining based in Melbourne.
Earlier this year Scopey Onsite closed a pre-seed round led by SFC Capital to accelerate its chat-based, agentic AI platform.
Ms Farrell said the new platform is designed to reduce time and risk for commercial construction teams.
“Scopey Onsite will allow construction teams to correctly capture site events fast, reduce disputes caused by incomplete information, and prepare substantiation with confidence,” Ms Farrell said. “Crews will be able to capture events on site and in real-time, and office teams get structured, easily searchable evidence.”
Ms Laging said that the software was designed harness the potential of new technology without causing headaches for users.
“Technology can bring great efficiency, but it’s not easy rolling out change - especially in the construction industry where work never stops,” Ms Laging said. “You can’t pull crews off site to learn another app and rely on a few ‘tech champions’ to smooth the way, I’ve seen many innovation projects stall when those people move on.
“Scopey Onsite re-imagines how we can use daily habits to have better data capture. Since crews are already texting, we use chat-based workflows and agentic AI to turn that into structured data, so the right information reaches the right people faster. In doing so, we’re addressing long-standing challenges around documentation, accountability, and commercial risk in construction projects,” she continued.
Ms Laging acknowledged the challenging environment for the new venture.
“Early-stage startups are known for their high failure rate, it's a volatile endeavour for any entrepreneur. The odds are stacked even higher against women, who receive less than 4% of venture capital investment,” Ms Laging said.
The SFC Capital round adds to earlier Enterprise Ireland support and brings UK capital into an Australian-founded construction tech business. The British Business Bank has documented how UK VC has historically skewed towards all-male founding teams, underscoring the significance of this cross-market raise for Scopey Onsite.
“The funding is good news for Scopey Onsite, but it’s also good news for Australia,” Ms Laging said, pointing to the Federal Government’s recent push to accelerate housing while reducing paperwork on builders.
Government proposals include pausing further changes to the National Construction Code and using AI to cut red tape and clear backlogs. At the same time, researchers warn delays sit in delivery and workforce, while the sector is also facing skills shortages.
Complex commercial programs also add urgency: Australia is now one of the world’s hottest data-centre investment markets, with Melbourne rising as a major hub. This is why Scopey Onsite is focusing on making it easier to produce defensible documentation, variation evidence and accelerate information flow across contractors and subcontractors.
Niall Casey, Senior Market Advisor, Industrial & Sustainability, Enterprise Ireland Australia & New Zealand said he was delighted to support Scopey Onsite in their market launch.
“This comes at the perfect time,” Mr Casey said. “With disputes, claims and retrospective substantiation consuming significant commercial resources across Australian projects, contractors are under pressure to improve how evidence is captured at the source before cost and schedule impacts escalate, and this platform helps them do that easily.”
About us:
About Scopey Onsite: Scopey Onsite is a construction-focused SaaS platform that uses chat-based workflows and agentic AI to capture field data quickly and deliver better data to office teams for faster decisions. Founded by Jenna Farrell (CEO), Gillian Laging (COO) and Daragh O’Shea (CTO). The solution is currently being rolled out to selected partners. Companies can find more information at www.scopeyonsite.com
About SFC Capital: SFC Capital operates one of the UK’s leading SEIS funds and is a highly active early-stage investor, backing innovative startups and working with universities, accelerators and public partners.
About Enterprise Ireland: Enterprise Ireland is the Government of Ireland’s enterprise agency. It supports Irish companies to start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets. Its Pre-Seed Start Fund provides up to €100,000 and mentoring to help early-stage startups hit key milestones. https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/
Contact details:
Gillian Laging, COO/Cofounder, Scopey Onsite, 0434 522 037, [email protected]
