Cross-laminated timber, otherwise known as CLT, is a prefabricated, engineered wood building material with unique and often superior building, aesthetic, environmental, and cost attributes. CLT wood panels are made by pressing perpendicular layers of lumber together with a layer of formaldehyde-free adhesive. The fusion of orthogonal wood layers gives CLT biaxial strength, durability, and stability. CLT can serve as a system-based approach for floors, walls, and roofs to form a high-performance and sustainable timber building of virtually any type. Code Council) adopted tall wood building codes for up to 18 stories.

Two startups-- View Inc., which makes light-adjustable glass, and Zume Inc., which uses robots to make pizza--disclosed investments over the past week totaling a combined $1.5 billion from SoftBank's Saudi-backed Vision Fund. Late last month, Katerra Inc., an innovator in property construction, reached a tentative deal with the Saudi government to build up to 50,000 units of housing annually for the kingdom. That followed a $1 billion funding round led by the Vision Fund early this year that valued the Menlo Park, Calif., company at more than $3 billion. Meanwhile, negotiations continued in recent weeks for a deal in which Tokyo-based SoftBank would invest $15 billion to $20 billion to buy a majority stake in WeWork Cos. likely with Vision Fund money, according to people familiar with the discussions. A WeWork spokeswoman declined to comment.

In the last two months Michael Marks has turned down a dozen offers to make keynote speeches at conferences. His company, construction startup Katerra, is three years old, but the attention surge is very recent. "Construction technology has gotten kinda buzzy," he says. But more likely, interest in Katerra has spiked because in January, the company landed an astounding $867 million in venture funding led by the SoftBank Vision Fund. A deal of that size, led by the venture industry's most talked-about fund, will put a company on the map overnight.

Founded by the former chief executive of electronics manufacturer Flextronics, Katerra handles everything from design to construction to manufacturing of glued wood beams, while building prefabricated walls and fixtures in indoor factories. The Menlo Park, Calif., startup calls itself a "technology company," emphasizing software aimed at making the process more efficient. A main innovation appears to be a business model that puts architects and construction workers on the same payroll. The deal, which values Katerra above $3 billion, marks the latest investment by the Vision Fund in ground rarely tread upon by tech investors. The fund, anchored by a $45 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia, was initially described by SoftBank as a vehicle to invest in technologies of the future such as robotics and artificial intelligence.