July 18, 2019

• CEMEX Ventures’ Construction Startup Competition 2019 doubled the number of participating startups compared with the 2018 competition, closing the event with 10 winners.
• The jury, the 10 winners and audience created an unparalleled framework for construction technology, investment, and entrepreneurship in the city of Monterrey, Mexico.

CEMEX Ventures celebrated its Pitch Day, an event at which the 10 winners of the Construction Startup Competition 2019 presented their solutions to a jury of experts in construction, innovation, and entrepreneurship. This global challenge, which doubled its participation compared to the 2018 competition, seeks new business models that work in the six priority opportunity areas defined by CEMEX Ventures.

Launched in February, the competition challenged the most promising startups to become leaders of the construction revolution. Ten solutions focused on the Contech space are one step closer to CEMEX Ventures’ offering and its challenge launched this year: to leave its mark in the industry. After an exhaustive analysis, those that stood out for their innovative and technological merit were named winners for providing solutions in one of the six areas of focus of CEMEX Ventures or for improving the value offer of CEMEX in the countries in which it already operates or can open new markets.

The entrepreneurs who were invited for this three-day event in Monterrey, Mexico, came from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Norway, the United States and the United Kingdom. The winners constituted the central axis of the event where, in addition to presenting their project, they engaged with multidisciplinary teams from CEMEX to explore possible opportunities for collaboration. They also conducted workshops with Google to optimize their search for customers and to understand how digital media helps generate value for attracting customers.

Winning startups offered solutions in:

• 360 Smart Connect: Intelligent traceability to increase efficiency in construction processes (France)
• Arqlite: Production of artificial gravel entirely from recycled plastics, which is three times lighter and 10 times more insulating than conventional gravel (Argentina)
• BuildStream: Real-time management of heavy equipment and logistics in complex construction projects and their supply chains (U.S.)
• BldBox: Predictive analytics platform that takes advantage of historical project data and produces accurate estimates for new construction and development projects (U.S)
• Matrak: Tracking network of construction materials that digitizes the supply chain (Australia)
• Morta: Coding and automation for compliance with building regulations (UK)
• PlanRadar: SaaS solution for documentation and communication in construction and real estate projects (Austria)
• Rebartek: Automation of the prefabrication of reinforcement cages by industrial robots (Norway)
• Thunderbolt pipeline: Intelligent end-to-end platform that uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to reduce risks and allow preconstruction teams to make more competitive offers (U.S)
• Vero Solutions: Modular design builder that applies a disruptive and patentable technology (steel and cement) (Canada).
   

The event was chaired by an integrated, multidisciplinary jury, with high functional and experience levels in the industry. It managed to combine leaders from the construction industry, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship on an international scale, including companies such as Google, 500Startups, TEKFEN Ventures, WND Ventures, and Dalus Capital.

CEMEX Ventures reaffirms its position in the construction, entrepreneurship, investment, and new technologies fields with initiatives such as its Construction Startup Competition, different workshops with construction actors, and collaboration agreements with experts and leading companies.

Launched in 2017, CEMEX Ventures focuses on helping overcome the main challenges and capitalizing on the opportunity areas in the construction ecosystem through sustainable solutions. CEMEX Ventures has developed an open collaborative platform to lead the revolution of the construction industry, engaging startups, entrepreneurs, universities, and other stakeholders to tackle the challenges in the construction environment and shape the industry’s future. For more information on CEMEX Ventures, please visit: www.cemexventures.com.

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