Cemex Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of the Monterrey cement company, has funded 12 companies and startups specialized in sustainability, in new technologies for the decarbonization of materials, self-construction, logistics and management of construction companies, as well as in the last five years.
For five years, Cemex Ventures became a seed capital fund for Mexican companies such as Jelp, Prysmex, Arqlite, Modulous and Saalg Geomechanics.
“This year we see it with very good eyes, new startups have closed only one, but we have at least three or more in the pipeline that we are sure we will end up investing. We are also scheduling a couple of reinvestments, ”Gonzalo Galindo, director of Cemex Ventures, told El Financiero.
This company is the ‘guardian angel’ of the success of Ben & Frank
In total, they have opted for 12 startups, as well as several collaboration contracts for technological development and joint ventures in industrialized construction projects and initiatives for the decarbonization of cement, energy, logistics and distribution of materials.
“We have only 9.5 million dollars in startups, normally we put around 1 million dollars in each startup. If we already add all the issues of the joint venture, etc., we can start to reach about 14 or 15 million dollars. Eventually we will be developing projects that can be worth 10 or 15 million dollars each project, ”he added.
Cemex Ventures has financed only two initiatives in Mexico: Jelp, the Monterrey platform to connect home professionals with companies such as Whirlpool, Comex, Coflex, The Home Depot and Assa Abloy, among others, in addition to Prysmex, a cloud-based solution to optimize risk management in the workplace, an initiative that Cemex adopted to operate in all its cement plants.
Cemex works on three of its own projects through Cemex Ventures for logistics, self-construction and the supply of materials for the small builder and supplier, as well as new technology to reduce CO2 emissions to zero in its products such as cement and concrete.
“It is an issue that will take time and execution of many initiatives,” he said.
Jelp plans expansion
In 2017, Cemex Ventures and Coflex, a Mexican plumbing services company, announced a joint investment for a startup in Monterrey, Jelp, which facilitated contact with professionals in the construction, masonry, plumbing, painters, electrical and installers, with owners and home owners.
Marco Sens, founder and CEO of Jelp, reported that with an estimated investment of almost 400 thousand dollars, the company started its growth and today it has also become the main sales and service software platform for companies such as Whirlpool, Cemex, Phillips and Coflex, among others.
“Our plan is to consolidate even more in Mexico and open operations in probably three cities in Latin America, tentatively in Bogotá, in Santiago and probably in a city in Central America, we don’t know if San José or Panama,” he said.
Arqlite seeks investment
In addition to Mexico, Cemex Ventures has invested in many regions of the country such as Europe, the United States, Asia and Latin America. In this, the commitment to the Argentine startup Arqlite stands out, which transforms plastic waste into lightweight recycled aggregates, artificial gravel for drainage, and produces precast concrete for non-structural purposes with a low carbon footprint.
“They made an investment of 500 thousand dollars in a series A, they joined other investors who were already part of the round, destined to put our first plant in the United States of about 1,500 tons of production,” said Sebastián Sajoux, CEO and founder by Arqlite.
He added that the company has its eyes on Mexico and other countries to continue growing, so it has sought talks with investors through Cemex to strengthen its expansion strategy, after the pandemic paralyzed many plans last year.
“There is interest from companies in various countries to bring our technology, we are in talks with people from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, through Cemex and also with Cemex from England, Israel and the US,” .
