- CEMEX joins a select group of global investors to fund Zacua Ventures.
- Zacua Ventures envisions a more sustainable, efficient, and interconnected Built Environment.
- The group of investors share the common objective of evolving the built environment towards a more sustainable and circular model.
MONTERREY, MEXICO. AUG 4TH, 2022 – CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (“CEMEX”) (NYSE: CX) and CEMEX Ventures, CEMEX’s corporate venture capital and open innovation unit, announced today that they are investing in Zacua Ventures, a global early-stage venture fund that aims to tackle the construction industry’s biggest challenges in sustainability, productivity, and urbanization.
Other investors in this venture include industry leaders ANDRES Construction, GS Futures, Progreso X and SABANCI Building Materials Group.
“As pioneers in the construction industry’s transformation, we are happy to be part of this powerful investment vehicle to seek innovative solutions that help boost productivity, sustainability, and urbanization,” said Gonzalo Galindo, Head of CEMEX Ventures. “This transformation would not be possible without the collaboration and synergy between the involved partners.”
Zacua Ventures is a fund by incumbents, for incumbents that will seek synergies between the innovation priorities of all its partners. Through these investments, Zacua will gain financial independence while benefiting from the experience of its partners. As the construction industry transforms, Zacua Ventures will be a strategic ally in the search and understanding of new technologies.
The team at Zacua Ventures offers a deep knowledge of the industry and startup ecosystem. It is led by experts that have been involved in the industry for more than 10 years and have invested in construction technology for the past decade. It has a global presence with headquarters in San Francisco, Madrid, and Singapore.
About CEMEX
CEMEX is a global construction materials company that is building a better future through sustainable products and solutions. CEMEX is committed to achieving carbon neutrality through relentless innovation and industry-leading research and development. CEMEX is at the forefront of the circular economy in the construction value chain and is pioneering ways to increase the use of waste and residues as alternative raw materials and fuels in its operations with the use of new technologies. CEMEX offers cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates, and urbanization solutions in growing markets around the world, powered by a multinational workforce focused on providing a superior customer experience, enabled by digital technologies. For more information, please visit: www.cemex.com
About CEMEX Ventures
Launched in 2017, CEMEX Ventures focuses on helping to solve the main challenges and capitalize on the opportunity areas in the construction ecosystem through sustainable solutions. CEMEX Ventures has created an open and collaborative platform to lead the revolution of the construction industry by engaging startups, entrepreneurs, universities, and other relevant actors to tackle the industry’s toughest challenges and shape tomorrow’s value ecosystem. For more information about CEMEX Ventures, please visit www.cemexventures.com
About Zacua Ventures
Zacua Ventures is a global early-stage venture fund tackling world’s biggest challenges across Sustainability, Productivity and Urbanization and backed by the most innovative corporates in the built world. Zacua is led by partners with more than 30 years of combined industry experience and who have been investing in construction tech for the past decade. With regional presence in San Francisco, Madrid and Singapore, Zacua helps entrepreneurs to build and strengthen their value proposition and scale their businesses globally, leveraging deep corporate networks. For more information, please visit: www.zacuaventures.com
About ANDRES Construction
In 1991, ANDRES’ founders came to the table with over 75 years of combined industry experience, and more importantly, a shared passion for construction and the continuous development of the city of Dallas. ANDRES has since expanded operations and created a presence in Austin, Houston, and Fort Worth. Over the last 30 years, ANDRES has successfully maintained valuable relationships with repeat clients, top tier architects, engineers, subcontractors, and suppliers. ANDRES’ extensive portfolio contains a wide array of projects such as multi-unit housing, hospitality, high-rise residential and office, educational facilities, commercial/mixed-use developments, historic renovations, and houses of worship. In 2017, ANDRES transitioned from a family-owned business to a 100% employee-owned company. ANDRES relies on our employee owners to provide hands-on leadership at every project and maintain a culture ingrained with the mindset of “built-in quality” at each step of the process. www.andresconstruction.com
About GS
GS E&C is a Korea-based general construction company with global operations . Since 1969, it has been engaged in EPC work for the oil & gas, petrochemical, power plant, and waste and water treatment industries, and has overseen various projects in the diversified infrastructure space. Additionally, GS E&C develops and builds high-rise properties in both commercial and residential segments. GS E&C currently has over 24 overseas subsidiaries & branches and operates across 190 sites worldwide.. www.gsfutures.vc
About Progreso X
As Progreso’s corporate accelerator, Progreso X is committed to create, design, and bring to reality disruptive ideas for the benefit of the world through the collaborative innovation between Progreso, startups, and its ecosystem. Progreso X focuses on creating human-centered solutions while having sustainability on top of mind as well as understanding culture as the basis for design and adapting to change through continuous learning. Launched in 2019, Progreso X aims to open the door for startups from all around the world to co-develop solutions to improve construction processes in Latin America. To learn more about Progreso X, please visit: www.progreso-x.com
About Progreso
Progreso is a leading multi-latin corporation that specializes in cement, materials, and other solutions for the construction industry across seven countries in Latin America. Each of its companies operate under strict legal compliance and shared ethical values, instituted by founder, Carlos F. Novella, since it was established in 1899 in Guatemala. Cementos Progreso is the flagship company. With more than a century of experience, Progreso is constantly introducing innovative solutions to the countries in which it operates, while staying true to their corporate purpose of “Building together the country where we want to live”. To learn more about Progreso, visit: progreso.com
About SABANCI Building Materials Group
Sabancı Building Materials Group has the largest grey cement and ready-mix portfolio in Turkey and is a global leading player in white cement. Each of its companies publicly listed in Istanbul Stock Exchange and serves its customers in more than 70 countries. Along with Its motto “from grey to green”, Group is constantly offering sustainable solutions to the markets in line with Sabancı Holding’s 2050 Net Zero target. To learn more about Sabancı Building Materials Group, please visit: www.sabanci.com/en
About SABANCI
Turkey’s leading conglomerate is a holding company engaged in a wide variety of business activities through its subsidiaries and affiliates, mainly in the banking, financial services, energy, industrials, building materials and retail sectors. Sabancı Group companies were supplying their products to regions throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, North Africa and North and South America. Sabancı Holding is registered with the Capital Markets Board and its shares have been listed on the Borsa Istanbul since 1997. In dynamic capital allocation, the Group focuses on growth and strengthening market leading positions in core businesses and investing in new platforms, while maintaining a healthy balance sheet structure and maximizing shareholder returns. For more information, please visit: https://www.sabanci.com/en
