Since Contech’s investment peak in 2021, the industry has experienced a shift, adopting a more selective approach to funding and a stronger focus on solutions that address the sector’s most pressing challenges. The 6^th edition of Cemex Ventures’ Top 50 list includes a comprehensive report featuring an analysis of industry insights for 2024 and a forecast on innovation and investment trends for 2025.

Last year, Contech’s investment totalled US$3.1 billion across 325 deals, marking an approximate 38% increase in the number of deals and only a 2.3% rise in the total amount invested compared to 2023. This growth occurred despite uncertain macroeconomic forces that impacted funding across the board, which demonstrates that investors remain confident in the industry’s potential. In 2024, deals related to Enhanced Productivity dominated, making up 47% of total deals, followed in second place by Green Construction with 24% of deals. The demand for digital and sustainable solutions underscores the construction industry’s drive for digital transformation and its commitment to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.

“Throughout 2024, our investment experts evaluated the most prominent emerging trends and collaborated with startups across the globe to identify disruptive innovations. Our objective is to invest in solutions that align with our vision of accelerating transformation in the construction sector,” said Gonzalo Galindo, Head of Cemex Ventures. “Our Top 50 Contech Startups list and report offer a strategic view of the sector’s progress, highlighting key investments and the adoption of new technologies while providing a complete picture of the construction startup ecosystem.”

The startups featured in this year’s Top 50 Contech Startups list hail from around the globe, yet they share a common goal: transforming the construction industry. For the complete list of the Top 50 Contech Startups 2025 and to download the report, please visit: https://www.cemexventures.com/top-50/

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The annual competition, now in its eighth edition, received a large number of startup applications from over 70 countries. Startup solutions were categorized into four focus areas that correspond to current pain points in the construction value chain: Green Construction (sustainability), Enhanced Productivity (efficiency), Construction Supply Chain (timeliness), and Future of Construction (disruption).

The most promising startup solutions from each focus area were named Construction Startup Competition 2024’s champions: GScan [Estonia], Kaya AI [US], KRAAFT [France], MIXTERESTING GmbH [Austria], Raise Robotics [US], revitalyze [Austria], Sodex Innovations GmbH [Austria] and Trunk Tools [US].

The eight aforementioned winners will advance to the competition’s final milestone, Pitch Day 2024, and present their solutions to executive representatives from the competition’s partner companies, industry investors and potential business partners at Trimble Dimensions User Conference on November 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The three startups with the best pitches will receive cash prizes, be named the gold, silver and bronze medalists, and continue to be evaluated for potential partnership opportunities with the host companies.

Over the last eight years, Construction Startup Competition has been a launching pad for more than 3,500 startups to network, validate their solutions through pilots and deployment projects, gain industry recognition, and facilitate fundraising with the mission to advance innovation in construction and promote the adoption of startup technologies.

The competition is supported by Cemex Ventures, Caterpillar, Dysruptek by Haskell, Ferrovial, Hilti, Leonard by VINCI, NOVA by Saint-Gobain, Trimble and Zacua Ventures.

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Lack of real-time visibility is a pervasive challenge to construction project planning and efficient execution. ObraLink’s easy-to-install and operate solution speeds up the construction process by fully automating construction progress, planning and tracking concrete strength on the job site in real-time without the need for human intervention, typically a time-consuming and error-prone task. Comprised of 3 main elements, their solution is a 100% automatic BIM software complemented with patented AI hardware technology that generates information in real time. Key data is then automatically shared in a specialized data module for concrete suppliers to optimize product quality according to the parameters required by the client.

“Two of the most troublesome pain-points in the construction industry are data collection and standardization, and the logistics of product deliveries. ObraLink has developed a solution that addresses both of these challenges, contributing to a more visible and digital construction industry,” said Gonzalo Galindo, Head of Cemex Ventures. “We are recommitting to ObraLink because of the impressive success they have already amassed in the LATAM region and are looking forward to working closely with them on future projects.”

“The only way to improve results in the construction industry is through the automation of daily and repetitive tasks during project execution. Digitalization alone is not sufficient to transform the industry. Given the complexity and the number of interconnected tasks and data in project execution, automatic systems are required to reduce the dependence on manual labor in construction,” said Emiliano Pinto, CEO of ObraLink. “We are thrilled to have found a major industry player like Cemex, which shares our vision for the future of construction.”

This follow-on investment in Obralink is related to Cemex’s Digital Innovation priorities and commitment to customer centricity. Obralink’s competitive solution linked to Cemex’s service offering helps developers and contractors reduce fixed costs by around 10% and avoid logistics complications such as booking changes. Cemex intends to continue to roll out projects with ObraLink to complement its services and product offering to customers.

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Construction Startup Competition promotes innovation, collaboration, and technology adoption with solutions that fall under the competition’s 4 focus areas: Green Construction (sustainability), Enhanced Productivity (efficiency), Construction Supply Chain (on time), Future of Construction (disruptive). It is also an invaluable tool for startups to network with potential clients and partners, earn capital, pilot in global markets, and pitch to active industry investors and potential business partners. This year, 3 winners will receive cash prizes at Pitch Day, the final competition milestone, held at Trimble Dimensions User Conference on November 11-13, 2024.

Over the last 7 years, Construction Startup Competition has been a launching pad for almost 3,000 startups to facilitate fundraising and gain recognition. The competition has named 36 winners, which have collectively raised more than US$396M in financing. More than one third of winners have received investment from and/or are working with one or more of the competition hosts, and 3 Contech acceleration programs use the competition as a qualified pipeline to build their cohorts.

“Every year we receive hundreds of applications from Contech and Cleantech startups, some of which have gone on to become big names in the industry, receive hundreds of million dollars in investment, and commercialize and expand their companies,” said Gonzalo Galindo, Head of Cemex Ventures.

As the construction sector demands change, the biggest innovators are saying to startups, “Let’s build something bigger together!” Contech & Cleantech startups looking to showcase their solution can take the next step and apply today: https://www.cemexventures.com/constructionstartupcompetition

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Since 2021, Contech has been gaining momentum as the construction industry faces pressure to innovate, and startups have emerged as crucial stakeholders helping to solve some of the industry’s most critical pain points, leading its evolution. The 5^th edition of Cemex Ventures’ Top 50 list is accompanied by a report with an in-depth review of industry investments in 2023 and an outlook on innovation and investment in the year to come.

Last year, Contech’s investment totalled US$3.03 billion from 236 deals, a 44% decrease and a 3.5% increase from 2022, respectively, due to the overall turbulent macroeconomic forces that affected funding across the board. However, the increase in Contech deals from 2022 to 2023 also reveals that investors continue to see favourable opportunities in the industry.

In 2023, deals related to Enhanced Productivity dominated, making up 45% of total deals, followed in second place by Green Construction with 24% of deals. The demand for digital-based and sustainable solutions affirms construction’s ongoing digital transformation and fight to achieve CO₂ neutrality by 2050.

“Our investment analysts track investment data throughout the year and continually engage with global startups to target the most innovative solutions that are consistent with our mission to foster the construction industry revolution,” said Gonzalo Galindo, Head of Cemex Ventures. “Innovation requires a long-term approach and cannot be defined by a year alone, but our Top 50 Contech Startups list and report helps us track innovation through investment and technology adoption and gauge the health of the construction startup ecosystem.”

The selected startups in this year’s Top 50 Contech Startups edition come from all over the world, however, they all boast solutions with a unified objective: to revolutionize the construction industry. For the full list of the Top 50 Contech Startups 2024 and to download the report, please visit: https://www.cemexventures.com/top-50/ 

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The 2022 edition reunites previous partners Dysruptek by Haskell, Ferrovial, GS Futures, Hilti, VINCI Group’s Leonard, and NOVA by Saint-Gobain, and welcomes Black & Veatch, a global engineering, construction, and consulting leader, Procore Technologies, leading US cloud-based construction software, and Zacua Ventures, a fund focused solely on the construction sector.

The global challenge is open for startups in their early stages up to their commercialization phase who have developed innovative solutions that help solve the industry’s main challenges. All participants will be able to apply under four categories: Green Construction, Enhanced Productivity, Construction’s Supply Chain, and Construction Future is Now. The application phase of the competition will remain open until Sept. 4, 2022.

Construction Startup Competition serves as a shortcut for all entrepreneurs who wish to knock on the doors of potential business partners that can help develop their solutions. “Participants can expect to engage with any of the host companies even before the competition comes to an end, going as far as receiving investment or setting up agreements in the months following their application,” said Gonzalo Galindo, Head of CEMEX Ventures. “This competition has served as a shortcut for many startups to connect with top industry investors and begin their successful collaborations, and this year´s lineup guarantees it will be no exception.”

The ten companies will thoroughly evaluate the applications before choosing the winners that will participate in a final Pitchday event in November 2022. The entrepreneurs will get the opportunity to showcase their solution to the competition’s jurors, as well as leading companies and investors from the construction and technology industry.

Construction Startup Competition has seen over 2,000 startups from more than 80 countries participate since its first edition. With more partners joining CEMEX Ventures in the call to disrupt the construction industry, and with investment blooming in the Contech ecosystem, the 2022 edition is calling for all startups in the sector to take on the challenge and participate by applying at www.cemexventures.com/constructionstartupcompetition.

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