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Dive brief:
- After whittling down hundreds of submissions from tech startups, the construction startup competition has selected 2025 finalists for its top prizesaccording to an October 22 announcement from Cemex. The venture capital arm of construction materials maker Cemex Ventures helps organize the annual event.
- Eight startups will pitch their products to compete for top three placements and cash prizes at the Trimble Dimensions conference in Las Vegas on November 10-12.
- Another five will compete in a new European Pitch Day at Recotech, a construction technology conference in Helsinki from November 17-19, for a top prize.
Diving knowledge:
The contest, now in its ninth year and standing out as perhaps the best-known contech contest in the industry, received 563 applications from more than 54 countries, the second largest participation in the contest’s history, according to the press release.
Over the years, the organizers of the competition have noticed an increasing number of high-quality applications from Europe, Miguel Carralón, investment advisor at Cemex Ventureshe told Construction Dive via email.
“Partnering with Recotech allows us to connect more directly with the European innovation ecosystem, engage with local startups, investors and companies, and offer the finalists a platform in one of the most dynamic regions for construction technology,” said Carralón.
This year’s finalists were divided into three categories:
Green Construction
- Alithic (USA): Manufactures a carbon negative cement replacement product.
- Capture (Australia): It offers a carbon capture retrofit system for existing diesel generators.
Improved productivity
- Ailytics (Singapore): It uses artificial intelligence and existing cameras for security data and project monitoring.
- AItenders (France): Leverage AI for tender documents and compliance tracking.
- BuildCheck AI (US): Use AI plan review to avoid RFIs, change orders, and city feedback for builders.
- Enlaye (USA): It offers an AI-based risk mitigation platform for builders, developers and building owners, while promising data security.
- IRIDESENSE (France): A LiDAR system that detects the presence of rocks, water or contaminants in the soil of project sites.
Future of Construction
- All 3 (UK): It uses robotics and AI to create custom designs that can be created using standardized mass production techniques to save costs.
- Birdsview (Norway): The company touts itself as X-ray vision of concrete to save builders time and money.
- Gravis Robotics (Switzerland): Develop a retrofit kit to turn heavy equipment into autonomous machines.
- Hyperion Robotics (Finland): It leverages 3D printing and localized microfactories to build concrete infrastructure.
- Navlive (UK): Scan a site with an AI-powered LiDAR camera to generate 3D maps and models.
- Taiyō.AI (USA): The company’s ConstructChat platform is an AI tool for construction and engineering that surfaces everything from construction costs to current project status just by asking questions.
Organizers of the Construction Startup Competition include Cemex Ventures, Trimble, equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, Haskell Dysruptek venture group, Saint-Gobain NOVA venture group, Ferrovial, Hilti, VINCI Group’s Leonard platform and investment firm Zacua Ventures.
The Trimble Dimensions Pitch Day will be attended by AItenders, Alithic, Buildcheck AI, Enlaye, IRIDESENSE, Gravis Robotics, Hyperion Robotics and Taiyō.AI. Recotech is attended by Ailytics, All3, Birdsview, Kapture and Navlive.
