Cemex Ventures invests in the digitalisation of construction

Cemex Ventures, the corporate venture capital and open innovation unit of Cemex, the Mexican multinational building materials company, is doubling down on its commitment to digitalise construction and improve industry efficiency through a follow-on investment in the Chile and UK based startup ObraLink.

Following its $2.0 million pre-series A funding round, ObraLink plans to further integrate itself within the Mexican ready-mix concrete market.

Lack of real time visibility is a pervasive challenge for 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 three main elements, the 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 specialised data module for concrete suppliers to optimise 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 standardisation, 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. Digitalisation 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 labour 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.