Applications are now open for Construction Startup Competition 2024, the biggest competition, network and platform for startups in the construction and cleantech industries globally. Prominent industry players and venture capital firms Cemex Ventures, Caterpillar, Dysruptek by Haskell, Ferrovial, Hilti, VINCI Group’s Leonard, NOVA by Saint-Gobain, Trimble, and Zacua Ventures are launching the open call for innovative startups worldwide in the eighth-annual event.
Construction Startup Competition promotes innovation, collaboration, and technology adoption with solutions that fall under the competition’s four focus areas:
- Green Construction (sustainability)
- Enhanced Productivity (efficiency)
- Construction Supply Chain (on time)
- Future of Construction (disruptive)
“We are elated to participate with this great group of industry partners committed to and investing in the digital future,” said Cutler Knupp, Haskell Director of Strategy and Technology Investment and Executive Director of Dysruptek. “The competition draws the highest quality entrepreneurs building solutions to address the current and future challenges of the built world.”
The competition is also an invaluable opportunity 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, three winners will receive cash prizes at Pitch Day, the final competition milestone, held at the Trimble Dimensions User Conference on November 11-13.
Over the past seven 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, raising more than $396 million in financing. More than a third of winners have received investment from and/or are working with one or more of the competition hosts, and three 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.
Contech & Cleantech startups looking to showcase their solution can take the next step and apply today: https://www.cemexventures.com/constructionstartupcompetition/
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 Caterpillar
With 2023 sales and revenues of $67.1 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. For nearly 100 years, we’ve been helping customers build a better, more sustainable world and are committed to contributing to a reduced-carbon future. Our innovative products and services, backed by our global dealer network, provide exceptional value that helps customers succeed. Caterpillar does business on every continent, principally operating through three primary segments – Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation – and providing financing and related services through our Financial Products segment. Visit us at caterpillar.com or join the conversation on our social media channels at https://www.caterpillar.com/en/news/social-media.html
About Dysruptek
Formed in 2018, Dysruptek is the venture investment arm of Haskell, which ranks No. 1 in global insurance carrier AXA XL’s Technology Adoption Maturity Index (TAMI), its proprietary benchmarking service of construction technology adoption. Dysruptek seeks to invest in disruptive architecture, engineering, and construction technologies that will reshape 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. The company operates in more than 15 countries and has a workforce of over 24,000 professionals worldwide. Ferrovial is dually listed on the Dutch and Spanish stock exchanges and is a member of Spain’s blue-chip IBEX 35 index. It is part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and FTSE4Good, and 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 the Hilti Group
The Hilti Group supplies the worldwide construction and energy industries with technologically leading products, systems, software and services. With about 34,000 team members in over 120 countries, the company stands for direct customer relationships, quality and innovation. Hilti generated annual sales of more than CHF 6.5 billion in 2023 and invests approximately 7 percent of sales in research and development each year. The company is privately owned by the Martin Hilti Family Trust, which ensures its long-term continuity. The Hilti Group’s purpose is making construction better, based on a passionate and inclusive global team and a caring and performance-oriented culture. With more than 280,000 daily interactions with customers, Hilti knows that the most innovative ideas are born on the jobsite. To learn more about Hilti, please visit: www.hilti.group
About VINCI Group’s Leonard
Leonard is the innovation and foresight platform set up by VINCI, a global player in concessions, energy and construction businesses, employing more than 280,000 people in more than 120 countries. Leonard was created to imagine the future of the Group’s business lines and is tasked with watching emerging trends in VINCI’s areas of expertise and markets, identifying new growth opportunities, and setting up incubation and acceleration programs for Group employees as well as start-ups. Each year, Leonard supports the acceleration and development of over 40 of the best innovative projects in construction. To find out more about Leonard: https://leonard.vinci.com/en/
About NOVA By Saint-Gobain
NOVA, the external venture arm of Saint-Gobain, identifies forward-thinking startups around the world whose philosophies align with Saint-Gobain’s focus on sustainability and digital. It helps those startups nurture their ideas and grow their companies to scale through partnerships and investment. With a presence in Asia, Europe and North America, NOVA by Saint-Gobain connects the global startup community with the power, resources and experience of Saint-Gobain to address the needs of today and challenges of tomorrow. Learn more by visiting https://www.nova-saint-gobain.com and www.saint-gobain.com
About Trimble
Trimble is transforming the ways people move, build and live. Core technologies in positioning, modeling and data analytics connect the digital and physical worlds to improve our customers' productivity, quality, safety, transparency and sustainability. For more information about Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB), visit: www.trimble.com
About Trimble Ventures
Launched in 2021, Trimble Ventures is a corporate venture capital fund focused on investing in early and growth-stage companies that align with Trimble’s mission of transforming work in the agriculture, construction, geospatial and transportation industries. The fund deploys strategic capital to accelerate the growth of innovative companies and partners that complement Trimble’s products and technology platforms and support its customers’ work. Trimble Ventures targets investing in companies with technologies and solutions related to hardware and software applications; artificial intelligence; augmented, virtual and mixed reality; autonomy and robotics; blockchain; the Internet of Things (IoT) and analytics; and sustainability. For more information on Trimble Ventures, visit: ventures.trimble.com
About Zacua Ventures
Zacua Ventures is a dynamic, early-stage venture capital fund dedicated to tackling the most pressing challenges in Sustainability, Productivity and Urbanization within the built environment on a global scale. With our strategic footprint in North America, Europe, and Asia, Zacua Ventures actively supports the most visionary and forward-thinking entrepreneurs. Our mission is to not only fortify their value propositions but also facilitate the global expansion of their ventures, leveraging extensive corporate networks. Zacua has robust backing from industry-leading corporations worldwide across the entire value chain of the industry, establishing a distinctive value proposition for our portfolio startups by fostering direct relationships with leading building material manufacturers, contractors, engineering companies, developers and software companies. Learn more about Zacua Ventures at www.zacuaventures.com
