- In 2025, the Contech sector continued its structural growth despite a more demanding macroeconomic environment. Investor appetite remained strong, though increasinglyselective, with capital flowing toward solutions demonstrating clear industrial viability, particularly across digitalization, automation, and AI-enabled technologies.
- Cemex Ventures presents its Top 50 Contech Startups 2026 list and accompanying report, showcasing the most innovative startups shaping the future of construction, alongside an in-depth analysis of investment trends and a forward-looking outlook for 2026.
Cemex Ventures, the corporate venture capital and open innovation unit of Cemex, today released its list of the 50 most promisingconstruction technology (Contech) startups for 2026. The selection is structured around the CVC’s four strategic focus areas: Green Construction (sustainability), Enhanced Productivity (efficiency), Construction Supply Chain (agility), and Future of Construction (disruption).
Cemex Ventures, the corporate venture capital and open innovation unit of Cemex, today released its list of the 50 most promisingconstruction technology (Contech) startups for 2026. The selection is structured around the CVC’s four strategic focus areas: Green Construction (sustainability), Enhanced Productivity (efficiency), Construction Supply Chain (agility), and Future of Construction (disruption).
Following the investment peak reached in 2021, the Contech ecosystem has entered a more mature phase characterized by disciplined capital allocation and a stronger emphasison solutions addressing the industry’s most critical operational, environmental, and productivity challenges. The 7th edition of Cemex Ventures’ Top 50 includes a comprehensive report analyzing key industry dynamics in 2025 and outlining expected innovation and investment trends for 2026.
In 2025, global Contech investment reached approximately USD 6.57 billion across nearly 337 deals, supported primarily by sustained activity in early-stage funding rounds (Seedand Series A). This trend reflects continued investor confidence in the sector’s long-term fundamentals, while underscoring a shift toward technologies with clearer executionpathways and scalability potential.
The Enhanced Productivity category continued to capture the largest share of investment activity, accounting for 64% of total deals, driven by the accelerated adoption of digital platforms, automation, and AI-enabled solutions designed to improve efficiency, predictability, and execution across construction operations.
The Construction’s Future category followed with 18% of total deals, reflecting sustained, but increasingly selective, interest in decarbonization, circularity, and resourceefficiency. Investment in this segment is increasingly focused on solutions that go beyond pilot phases, demonstrating clear pathways toward industrial scalability, soundeconomics, and tangible impact across key levers such as embodied carbon reduction, alternative materials, water efficiency, and process optimization.
“In 2025, the Contech market clearly moved into a more disciplined and execution-driven phase. Capital did not retreat, but it became more selective, favoring solutions that can be industrialized, integrated into real operations, and scaled with predictable economics,” said Jesús Ortiz, Head of Cemex Ventures.
“Our focus has been on identifying technologies that address the sector’s structural challenges, productivity, supply chain resilience, and decarbonization, through solutions thatmove from validation into real operations, delivering measurable impact at scale.”
“The Top 50 Contech Startups 2026 report reflects a market where innovation is no longer judged by novelty, but by its ability to translate into execution,” Ortiz added. “Digitalization, automation, and AI are becoming core components of new operating models in construction, and in 2026, we expect accelerated adoption of technologies that enhancepredictability, efficiency, and sustainability while strengthening overall competitiveness.”
The startups featured in this year’s Top 50 Contech Startups 2026 represent a diverse global ecosystem, united by a shared ambition to address construction’s most pressing challenges and reshape the industry’s future.
