CONSTRUCTION STARTUP COMPETITION 2021 OPENS CALL FOR ENTREPRENEURS BUILDING THE NEW LEGENDS IN CONSTRUCTION

• CEMEX Ventures, Ferrovial, Hilti, VINCI Group´s Leonard and NOVA by Saint-Gobain renew their alliance and are joined by GS Group, Korean business conglomerate focused on energy, retail and construction, and Haskell, leading American firm offering architecture, engineering and construction solutions, in the search for the most promising startups.
• Carbon footprint mitigation, supply chain management, efficient jobsite and built environment, advanced building materials, and new construction methods are the five categories of the 2021 competition.
• Construction Startup Competition, the biggest startup challenge in the industry, will accept applications for their fifth edition until June 27, 2021. 

Madrid (ES), April 15, 2021 – CEMEX Ventures, open innovation unit and corporate venture capital of CEMEX, launches Construction Startup Competition 2021 and renews its alliance with Ferrovial, Hilti, VINCI Group´s Leonard and NOVA by Saint-Gobain. Following the success of what has become the industry's most promising startup competition, GS Group, a leading Korean business conglomerate working in energy, construction and retail through its venture capital arm GS Futures, and Haskell, a leading fully integrated, single source design-build American firm delivering solutions for the architecture, engineering and construction sector globally through their venture arm Dysruptek, join the challenge in the search for the best solutions for the built sector. The application phase of the competition will remain open until June 27, 2021.

Multiple startups from the previous edition are already in the talks or piloting their solutions with CEMEX Ventures, Ferrovial, Hilti, VINCI Group´s Leonard and NOVA by Saint-Gobain. This is one of the main reasons for the incorporation of GS Group and Haskell in the fifth edition of the competition.

“To participate in Construction Startup Competition 2021 means to knock directly on the doors of seven global leading companies in construction. Once again, this year we managed to reunite entities with great knowledge of the industry, not just in the areas of materials, machinery, infrastructure, and processes. These seven leaders cover the whole construction value chain and understand what the opportunity areas in the entire construction ecosystem are  to find the best solutions and solve the main challenges of the industry” expressed Gonzalo Galindo, Head of CEMEX Ventures.

Under the slogan “Build your own legend”, the seven companies that have been leading the evolution of construction since the last century, invite startups to participate through CEMEX Ventures website: www.cemexventures.com/constructionstartupcompetition.

They have identified five categories where startups can subscribe themselves to: carbon footprint mitigation, supply chain management, efficient jobsite and built environment, advanced building materials, and new construction methods.

The application phase closes on June 27, 2021. After a careful analysis from the seven organizing companies, the winners will be announced during the third trimester of 2021. By the end of the year, they will join the directors of the companies in a Pitchday event, along with other companies focused on construction, innovation, investment, and technology. This event will serve as the scenery for the entrepreneurs to present their solutions, begin conversation with investors and expand the projection of their businesses.

Construction Startup Competition 2021 was launched during the final event of the previous edition of this challenge, where the startup Modulous was crowned the winner. Modulous is a modular construction solution that offers a standardized kit of parts that allows the design and delivery of healthy, sustainable, and affordable homes through a distributed network of local assembly partners. Because of the pandemic and following the sanitary guidelines, the previous Pitchday had to be celebrated online. Therefore, Modulous will be invited to this year´s event, holding a privileged position and enjoying the opportunity to showcase its solution to relevant stakeholders.

For more information on the Construction Startup Competition 2021, please visit: www.cemexventures.com/constructionstartupcompetition

ABOUT CONSTRUCTION STARTUP COMPETITION

Since its first edition in 2017, over a thousand startups from more than 80 countries have participated in the biggest challenge aimed at startups in the construction industry, Construction Startup Competition. Plenty of them have gone on to collaborate with the participating companies after applying for the competition. Given the global outreach of its partners, the 2021 edition expects to see an increase in the number of applications, allowing to identify the most innovative solutions around the world, continue growing the Contech ecosystem and implementing the innovative plans for the sector. 

ABOUT CEMEX VENTURES

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

ABOUT DYSRUPTEK - HASKELL

Formed in 2018, Dysruptek is the venture investment arm of The Haskell Company. Dysruptek seeks to invest in disruptive Architecture, Engineering and Construction technologies reshaping the built world. Dysruptek acts as an agent of change and partner to innovators driving meaningful impact across the industry. Invest. Invent. Innovate. For more information, please visit: www.dysruptek.com.

ABOUT FERROVIAL

Ferrovial, a leading global infrastructure operator, is committed to developing sustainable solutions. It is a member of Spain's blue-chip IBEX 35 index and is also included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and FTSE4Good Index; all its operations are conducted in compliance with the principles of the UN Global Compact, which the company adopted in 2002. For more information on Ferrovial, please visit: www.ferrovial.com

ABOUT GS

GS E&C is a Korea based international general construction company.  Since 1969, it has been engaged in the fields of architecture, housing, refineries, gas & petrochemical plants, civil engineering, water treatment, waste treatment and power plant across the globe. With its 24 overseas subsidiaries & branches and 190 ongoing sites worldwide, GS E&C generated $9 Bil. revenue in 2020.

ABOUT HILTI 

Hilti makes construction work simpler, faster and safer. With products, systems, software and services that provide clear added value, Hilti stands for quality, innovation and direct customer relationships. The company has roughly 250,000 direct interactions with customers each day, meaning that many innovative ideas are developed directly on construction sites. If there is a challenge on the construction site for which there is no Hilti solution, one will be developed. This is why the company invests approximately 6 percent of sales each year in research and development. To learn more about Hilti, please visit: www.hilti.group

ABOUT VINCI GROUP’S LEONARD

Leonard is the innovation and foresight platform created by VINCI, a global player in concessions and construction, which employs more than 192,000 people in some 100 countries. Leonard is responsible for monitoring emerging trends in VINCI's businesses and markets, identifying long-term challenges and objectives, pinpointing opportunities for transformation in the group's activities and organizational structure, identifying new growth drivers, and developing incubation and acceleration programs for innovative projects open to group employees and start-ups. 

For more information, please visit: https://leonard.vinci.com/en/

ABOUT NOVA BY SAINT-GOBAIN

Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and solutions for the construction, mobility, healthcare and other industrial application markets. Developed through a continuous innovation process, they can be found everywhere in our living places and daily life, providing wellbeing, performance and safety, while addressing the challenges of sustainable construction, resource efficiency and the fight against climate change. This strategy of responsible growth is guided by the Saint-Gobain purpose, “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME,” which responds to the shared ambition of all the women and men in the Group to act every day to make the world a more beautiful and sustainable place to live in. €38.1 billion in sales in 2020. More than 167, 000 employees, located in 70 countries. Committed to achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050. For more details on Saint-Gobain, visit www.saint-gobain.com and follow us on Twitter @sgnova or @saintgobain

CEMEX Ventures assumes no obligation to update or correct the information contained in this press release. CEMEX Ventures is not responsible for the content of any third-party website or webpage referenced to or accessible through this press release.