US media company Architizer's online database for architectural products has received new financial backing from industry names including Bjarke Ingels and J Mayer H.
The Danish and German architects are among a set of new investors for Source, the digital marketplace for specifying products for construction projects, launched by Architizer in January 2016.
New York-based architects Wendy Evans Joseph and WORKac, real-estate developer Ironstate, and construction tech startup Katerra have also pledged funds to the platform, which Danish architect Bjarke Ingels described as "the architecture community of the future".
"To unleash the power of the profession, architects need to make big moves to change the way we do business. Source does exactly that," said the BIG founder.
Currently available to companies in the US, the database allows architects and contractors to search and compare prices listed by manufacturers like Porcelanosa, Herman Miller and Delta Light for free.
The service also allows architects and manufacturers to communicate with each other, and lets the producers pitch their wares to the studios, and "gives both sides an accurate snapshot of the market's needs".
"There should be no difference between specifying architectural aluminium panels and buying a salad spinner on Amazon," said Architizer CEO Marc Kushner.
"If architects could comparison shop, read colleague reviews and compare products, the building-product-industry would be leaping to innovate," he continued. "Better products mean better buildings and market transparency is the fastest way to a better future."
So far, over 100 architecture firms including Studio Gang, FXFOWLE and IA Interior Architects have used Source for projects that are cumulatively worth $3 billion (£2.3 billion).
Architizer has not disclosed the figure raised from the latest round of investors, joining August Capital, Gary Handel and SHoP Architects, which participated in the first round of funding that raised $7 million (£5.4 million).
Kushner, a founding partner at New York studio HWKN and creative agency KKLD, launched Architizer in 2009 as a platform that enables architects to create online portfolios and share their work, earning it the nickname Facebook for Architects.
The website now offers editorial content and a database of 120,000 projects by firms around the world. In 2013, it launched the A+Awards programme, which Dezeen partnered with last year and published a series of the winning projects.
For job opportunities at Architizer, visit their company profile on Dezeen Jobs.