March 21 (Reuters) - BuildOps said on Friday it has raised $127 million in a late-stage funding round at a valuation of $1 billion, as it looks to scale operations and meet growing demand from contractors for its AI-enabled software platform.

The Series C funding round was led by Meritech Capital Partners and saw participation from new investors such as Schneider Electric's SE Ventures and BOND Capital as well as existing investors Fika Ventures and Next47, among others.

Advancements in AI and easier access to such technologies have opened avenues for new sectors to improve productivity and reduce costs.

BuildOps, which offers a consolidated platform for commercial contractors to manage accounts, customer relationships and other operations, has seen huge demand for its services, the company said.

"The modern contractor that we work with is now going to have the insights from volumes of data that we're putting AI against to try to project cost overruns before they happen," Chief Operating Officer John Laino told Reuters.

"Historically, they would have to wait three or four months into a project, and sometimes it was too late to course-correct."

The company, backed by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, has been growing at a 100% rate for several years and expects to grow at a high rate in the short-to-medium term, CEO Alok Chanani said, adding that going public is part of the vision. He, however, did not specify a timeline.

"We're in a hyper-growth stage today, and so, profitability is not a core focus of the business right now. Our focus is really on growth and investing heavily in R&D and product development and continuing to expand our market reach and customer acquisition," Chanani said.

The company expects to make strategic acquisitions that could be mutually beneficial. BuildOps had bought PWSWARE, the parent company of software platform Perfectware Solutions, in 2023 for an undisclosed amount. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)