Exclusive: Big Rentals raises $2.8m in push to modernize equipment rental market
Investing.com -- Big Rentals has quietly closed a $2.8 million seed round to accelerate its expansion into the heavy construction equipment market, Investing.com has learned.
The Los Angeles startup is gearing up to challenge legacy players in an $80 billion U.S. equipment rental industry.
The round was led by SNAK Venture Partners, with participation from Ironspring Ventures, EquipmentShare, Forum Ventures, Jason Calacanis’s LAUNCH Fund, and NuFund Venture Group.
The new capital is expected to fuel expansion into high-demand categories such as excavators, lifts, and site equipment, as manufacturing construction climbs to $223 billion annually and data-center builds surge to a $40 billion run rate.
Pablo Fernandez, Co-Founder and CEO of Big Rentals, told Investing.com the fresh funding is “rocket fuel at exactly the right moment,” adding that Big Rentals was built to fix an industry where contractors “had to wait days, sometimes weeks, for a quote” and rental operators were “just as frustrated” with outdated systems that left inventory idle.
Big Rentals also owns HQRent.com, its AI-powered operating software for independent rental companies.
Fernandez said building software and scaling the national partner network “aren’t two separate jobs, they’re one and the same,” comparing HQRent to OpenTable for restaurants and Wheelbase for RV rentals.
When it comes to the surge in demand, the CEO noted that Big Rentals already operates in 200+ cities and uses data to anticipate future demand.
“If we see a spike in demand for lifts in Dallas or mini excavators in Atlanta, our system flags it immediately and we move fast to bring on the right supply,” he stated. “Our data-fueled engine matches quotes to the right suppliers. As more suppliers join and add inventory, the flywheel spins faster: more listings, more bookings, and better matches for every new contractor who comes through the door.”
Fernandez believes the model will become “the new standard for equipment rental.”
Overall, the company’s goal is to be the system that rental businesses can’t live without, according to Fernandez.
Fernandez declared: “If we get this right, nobody will ever want to rent equipment the old way again.”
