We analyse the investment made by CEMEX Venture, created in 2017 with the aim of promoting sustainable solutions for construction, to the US startup Concrete Sensors, a company that belongs to the construction sector.
We analyse the investment made by CEMEX Venture, created in 2017 with the aim of promoting sustainable solutions for construction, to the US startup Concrete Sensors, a company that belongs to the construction sector.
In late July, CEMEX Venture announced the investment - but not the amount - in Concrete Sensors, an Internet of Things company focused on construction. The US startup, founded in 2013, enables contractors to speed up construction times through the use of accurate, real-time monitoring of the temperature, relative humidity and hardness of any mix.
To provide this service, Concrete Sensors applies technological advances to the field of construction. Under this premise, it employs integrated wireless sensors that enable its users to obtain, through a mobile application, detailed and updated information on the state of the materials so that they can make critical decisions with a high degree of accuracy. The combination of data and an in-house calibration laboratory allows customers to save money, reducing and avoiding delays in construction times, as well as optimising the workflow.
This proposal is defined as a vision of great potential as it offers useful, highly accurate information and improves the customer's service experience.
Cemex Ventures was launched last year with the aim of driving sustainable solutions for construction through startups, entrepreneurs, universities and other relevant industry players. Under the idea of leading the revolution of the construction industry through innovation, CEMEX Venture has seen in the Concrete Sensors proposal an opportunity in this sector, allowing to provide solutions to a wide range of challenges in construction.
However, Concrete Sensors' proposition has already been employed by some of the largest and most sophisticated contractors, such as Turner Construction and Skanska. However, this intuitive solution has also attracted the interest of CEMEX Ventures, Requus Ventures and Arab Angels Fund, who have partnered to make this investment. The agreement positions CEMEX Venture as a strategic growth player by facilitating relationships between Concrete Sensors and other companies.
Last February, Cemex Ventures also increased its commitment to technology applied to the construction sector by announcing its investment in the Spanish company Saalg Geomechanics, an engineering startup that developed software called Daarwin, which analyses in real time the behaviour of the terrain in civil works and large buildings.
The following table lists five companies related to the construction sector and technological development, which like Concrete Sensors have received investments to develop their proposal in the last year.
| Company | Country | Description | Date | Total Investment ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iStaging | Taiwan | iStaging makes it easy and affordable to turn objects and spaces into immersive augmented and virtual reality experiences. | 6/09/2016 | 5.000.000 |
| TimeLooper | United States | Time Looper uses immersive technology to travel back in time, allowing tourists to experience destinations at key moments in history through virtual reality videos on smartphones. | 1/02/2018 | 3.888.054 |
| Fast Travel Games | Sweden | Fast Travel Games is a game development studio. | 5/09/2017 | 2.100.000 |
| Immotion Group Plc | United Kingdom | Immotion Group combines animation and multi-directional motion platforms to deliver virtual reality experiences. | 24/04/2018 | 2.451.255 |
| Georama | United States | Georama enables organisations to collect and deliver video information from phones or smart glasses anywhere in the world in real time. | 1/07/2017 | 1.725.000 |
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