Madrid, SPAIN. SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 – CEMEX Ventures, CEMEX’s open innovation and Corporate Venture Capital unit, announced today its investment in GoFor Industries, a last-mile logistics marketplace for on-demand delivery of building materials and equipment for the home improvement and construction industries.
GoFor Industries, a startup with operations in Canada and the United States, matches the delivery requirements of distributors, retailers, and contractors with the appropriate lightweight to heavy-duty vehicles of its driver community inventory. They provide reliable, affordable, and timely delivery of goods to their customer and job sites. GoFor’s flexible, on-demand services allow businesses to supplement their busy fleets or choose GoFor as their exclusive out-sourced logistics partner for local and out-of-town deliveries.
Founded in 2016 by a team with extensive experience in the construction industry, GoFor is focused on the supplier and retailer supply chain and is exploring phenomenal growth across major urban areas in Canada and the United States. Looking ahead to 2020, GoFor is poised for expansion to 20 major market areas in the United States, providing an indispensable tool for suppliers, distributors, and builders—turning the traditional cost center of delivery into a modern, customer-centric profit center.
CEMEX Ventures’ participation goes beyond its financial investment, helping GoFor to continuously strengthen its presence in the geographies in which it operates and to expand into new markets. Brad Rollo CEO of GoFor stated, “We are excited to work with CEMEX Ventures as they are an ideal partner; they bring deep construction industry experience, providing valuable insight and guidance as we scale our operations across North America.”
Gonzalo Galindo, CEO of CEMEX Ventures said, “With this investment, we seek to improve a critical point in the construction value chain, ensuring the efficient on-site delivery of materials. Our open collaboration platform enables us to bring new innovative solutions and business models to CEMEX customers. We work to identify our industry’s challenges and position our company at the forefront of the construction revolution.”
For more information on GoFor, please visit gofordelivers.com.
MONTERREY, JULY 18, 2019 – CEMEX Ventures celebrated its #CXVPitchday, 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:
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.
MADRID, SPAIN. MAY 16, 2019 – CEMEX Ventures, the open innovation and Corporate Venture Capital unit of CEMEX, announced today its investment in Energy Vault, an Idealab company that has developed a transformative technology to store energy. The new investment is further reinforced by plans to support rapid market adoption and deployment of Energy Vault’s technology through CEMEX’s strategic network.
This investment follows a previously announced technology partnership with CEMEX to provide concrete and other composite material technology for Energy Vault’s storage towers.
Energy Vault’s breakthrough technology was inspired by pumped hydro plants that rely on the power of gravity and the movement of water to store and discharge electricity. This solution is based on the same well-understood principles of physics and mechanical engineering used in those plants. Energy Vault’s system replaces water with custom made concrete bricks through an innovative use of low-cost materials. The massive bricks are combined with its patented system design and proprietary algorithm-based software to operate a newly designed crane. The crane orchestrates the energy storage tower and electricity charge/discharge while accounting for a variety of factors, including energy supply and demand volatility, weather elements and other variables such as inertia and system deflection.
As a result, Energy Vault can deliver all the benefits of a gravity-based pumped hydro system with lower price, higher round trip efficiency, without the requirement for specific land topographies and negative environmental or wildlife impacts. Importantly, with Energy Vault’s longer duration and more cost-effective energy storage, electricity from renewables can be delivered for less than the price of fossil fuels 24 hours a day for the first time. In April 2019, Energy Vault won the World Changing Idea Award from Fast Company in the Energy category for the unprecedented economic and environmental benefits its technology provides.
“Energy storage that enables power to be delivered for less than the cost of fossil fuels is critical as the world shifts away from its reliance on carbon-based fuels to renewable energy,” said Gonzalo Galindo, CEO of CEMEX Ventures. “Energy Vault’s storage technology is transformational, and we’re extremely pleased to broaden our relationship and support the company’s efforts. The investment is also important because it complements the CEMEX R&D partnership and will accelerate our corporate objectives to achieve a carbon-free industrial footprint.”
“CEMEX is a key strategic partner that adds critical innovations in material science that enhance both the economics and longevity of our energy storage system, and we’re thrilled to expand our partnership to welcome CEMEX Ventures as an investor,” said Robert Piconi, chief executive officer and co-founder, Energy Vault. “The combination of CEMEX’s smart concrete solutions, significant global infrastructure and now its strategic investment will accelerate our ability to enable renewable energy to replace fossil fuels 24 hours a day.”
For more information on Energy Vault, please visit energyvault.ch
MADRID, SPAIN. APRIL 11, 2019 – CEMEX Ventures announced today its investment in LINKX, a company that offers specialized software to optimize goods delivery. The company’s software solution allows control of deliveries and vehicles in real time, allowing for data-based decision-making and facilitating communication and information among all involved parties: shipper, carrier, and receiver. Within the increasingly busy technological world of logistics, LINKX stands out for its user-friendly interface, robustness and convenient integration, and customer-centric focus.
With LINKX, shippers or freight generators plan deliveries in a simple way, allowing them to assign operations to their own carriers or third parties. In addition, to enable visibility of shipment status and vehicles’ location in real time, LINKX digitizes delivery vouchers, provides administrative advantages, and fosters fluidity in the billing process. Another distinguishing function of this delivery optimization software is its analytical reports that offer data-based conclusions about its logistic operation.
Another segment that benefits from this platform are drivers. LINKX allows drivers to schedule their performed services and functions as a co-pilot that optimizes their routes. This tool is able to collect signatures and offer graphic evidence for proof of digital delivery. Through LINKX, customers receive merchandise very easily, are informed at all times of the delivery process, and receive the same digital receipt. The platform allows them to assess the service, improve trust, and provide feedback to shippers and carriers.
CEMEX Ventures’ portfolio grows. “This investment is a clear example of our offer. LINKX came to us at a very early stage, and together, we worked on continuous improvements by reinforcing their minimum viable product and offering continuous feedback on our knowledge of industry and technology. After numerous optimizations, we have piloted this solution with several CEMEX clients to achieve a very robust solution for the supply chain management challenge,” said Gonzalo Galindo, CEO of CEMEX Ventures.
LINKX, which currently operates in the Mexican and Spanish markets, explores new sectors beyond construction. It is expected that its results’ efficiency, confidence, and visibility position it close to generating important sales, transforming it into a leading software solution specializing in delivery optimization.
Launched in 2017, CEMEX Ventures focuses on helping to solve the main challenges and areas of opportunity for the construction ecosystem through sustainable solutions. CEMEX Ventures has created an open and collaborative platform to lead the construction industry revolution by engaging startups, entrepreneurs, universities, and other relevant stakeholders to address the industry’s toughest challenges and shape tomorrow’s value ecosystem. For more information on CEMEX Ventures, please visit: www.cemexventures.com.
MADRID, SPAIN. DECEMBER 12, 2018 – CEMEX Ventures, CEMEX’s open innovation and venture capital unit, announced today its investment in StructionSite, a US-based startup that creates digital worksite models through 360-degree cameras. This solution saves about 60% of the time required to calculate progress at a worksite, a process comprising about 1.74% of the total cost of a construction project.
To create its digital models, StructionSite uses 360-degree cameras that provide data to its software, which digitalizes and documents worksite progress. Through the user’s position, ‘Computer Vision,’ and ‘Machine Learning’ technology, StructionSite’s software processes, analyzes, and creates images of the worksite to identify key elements and evaluate advancements.
This new investment streamlines a project’s construction phase by reducing the time to calculate progress and obtaining the contextualized information to enable strategic decision-making and improved coordination between the actors involved. This solution offers deep differential value by providing support on a web-based platform and mobile application, combined with ease of use and integration with other tools to streamline the pace of information.
Currently focused on the US market, StructionSite participated in the ‘500 Startups’ acceleration program in which it developed a successful business model that enabled it to close sales with the US largest constructors in less than its two-year life. In this way, StructionSite became a leading solution to transform the construction industry and started a round of investment led by CEMEX Ventures.
In addition to funding, CEMEX Ventures expects to increase StructionSite’s presence in the US and help it to explore new international markets. This investment gives StructionSite access to CEMEX’s strategic network and the support of CEMEX’s global research and development, marketing and communication, and operating facilities across more than 50 countries.
Launched in 2017, CEMEX Ventures focuses on helping to 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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MADRID, MAY 16, 2018 – CEMEX Ventures announced today that it invested in PRYSMEX, a Mexico-based startup that offers a solution capable of detecting and helping to prevent workplace accidents through the Internet of Things and real-time data collection.
PRYSMEX’s innovative solution features a web platform with a collaborative management app that monitors the environmental and geolocation variables of unsafe acts and conditions on customized 3D maps, enabling real-time decision-making and increased industry safety and productivity.
The solution marks a fundamental advance in health and safety for the construction sector. Through the Internet of Things, PRYSMEX enables a comprehensive analysis of data such as impacts, light and noise levels, locations, temperatures, and the presence of toxic gases, among others. Placed on the workers’ helmets, PRYSMEX devices monitor and communicate in real time users’ conditions, alerting them to potential situations and high-risk areas. In addition, its web application provides an analytical report of workers’ and plant conditions, enabling better workplace decision-making and accident prevention at all times.
CEMEX evaluated the solution, and after its successful trial period, installed PRYSMEX technological solution at all its cement plants in Mexico. In addition to CEMEX Ventures’ investment in the application, PRYSMEX will enjoy access to a wide-ranging portfolio of strategic industry contacts, fostering the execution of new projects in international markets. This solution offers CEMEX another important tool to promote its employees’ health and safety —its top priority.
Founded by chemical engineer Susana Ruiz and civil engineer Patricio de Villa in Monterrey, Mexico, PRYSMEX was the finalist of CEMEX Ventures Startup Competition 2017 and is now part of the company’s portfolio.
BARCELONA, SPAIN. FEBRUARY 21, 2018 – CEMEX Ventures announced today its investment in SAALG Geomechanics, a Spain-based engineering startup that has developed Daarwin, a software which provides real-time analysis of the behavior of the ground during civil works and large building projects.
This is the third investment for CEMEX Ventures, CEMEX’s open innovation and venture capital unit, since its launch less than a year ago. CEMEX Ventures adds its investment to those of Mobile World Capital and Business Angels, current SAALG investors.
Based in Barcelona, Spain, SAALG Geomechanics was founded by geotechnical engineers Cristian de Santos and Ignasi Aliguer. The startup developed software called Daarwin, which provides real-time analysis of the behavior of the ground during civil work and large building projects. Through state-of-the-art Machine Learning and Real Time Data Analysis technology, it enables real-time control of civil work projects, increasing safety by anticipating potential catastrophes or substantial changes due to ground movement that are imperceptible at the beginning of the work.
The solution represents a fundamental step forward for the construction sector. Currently, ground analysis is performed manually during work execution, so it can prove inaccurate and limit decision-making. Daarwin software significantly increases the analytical capacity and reliability of terrain response predictions. This reduces the current uncertainty at the beginning of a project and, therefore, increases safety, optimizes the construction process, and reduces over-dimensioning material resources.
SAALG estimates savings in civil works of more than 10% of the project cost, and in large buildings with underground levels, savings can reach up to 15% of the foundation’s cost.
CEMEX Venture’s investment will enable SAALG to launch the first commercial version of the software, which is currently available as a project case version. With this software evolution, different agents of the construction process’ value chain will have access to the platform and enjoy the ability to work collaboratively in real-time. Needed modifications to the work can be made in an agile way, optimizing human, technical, and economic resources.
Additionally, CEMEX Ventures will provide SAALG with a wide network of contacts, driving the startup’s execution of new projects in international markets. Correspondingly, CEMEX Ventures remains at the forefront of the application of new innovation and collaboration trends with startups in the construction ecosystem.
October, 17th 2017. – CEMEX Ventures, the open innovation platform and corporate venture capital unit of CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (“CEMEX”) (NYSE: CX), and COFLEX, a leader in the Mexican plumbing sector, announced a joint investment in Jelp, a Monterrey, Mexico-based startup that facilitates coordination between homes and specialized professionals in different construction sectors.
CEMEX Ventures and COFLEX’s investment is aligned with one of their operational focus to “Connect and facilitate coordination among the players within the construction ecosystem.” Through Jelp’s marketplace, which seeks to reach all Latin American homes, they take advantage of new technologies available to everyone.
JELP is a digital platform that enables users to find, contract, and rate plumbers, builders, painters, and electricians, among other construction services. This application is focused not only on construction professionals, but also on maintenance and repair experts.
“We are the most important link between verified and trustworthy home improvement experts for any project in Mexico,” said Marco Sens, CEO of JELP. “To become the first option for users and professionals is the foundation of our business strategy. We want to boost thousands of our professionals, enhancing their quality of life and job.”
This marketplace utilizes a differentiation strategy, which combines its relationships with construction and repair services manufacturers with an excellent user experience and professionals properly validated by industry leading brands. CEMEX Ventures and COFLEX are the first betting on JELP.
“We look for startups like JELP, which creates synergies among all of the construction players. CEMEX Ventures aims to encourage these kinds of synergies and in this process, to promote Monterrey’s entrepreneurial community,” confirmed CEMEX Ventures’s investment team.
Since June 2016, COFLEX has worked with JELP to enhance its “Coflex Plumber Program”, designed to dignify and develop the plumber’s job. This investment decision demonstrates that “JELP is the best option to link professionals with customers: housekeepers or end-users through the most efficient and secure service,” said Mauricio Coronado, Co-CEO of COFLEX.
