Nexii reaches $1B valuation, appoints new board member
West coast builder and green construction technology start up Nexii announced on September 8 that it has become the fastest company in Canadian history to achieve a $1-billion valuation.
The company reached a post-money valuation of $1.55 billion in just under 31 months.
Nexii designs and manufactures innovative high-performance buildings and green building products that are sustainable, cost-efficient, and resilient in the face of climate change. Its wall assemblies use between 20 percent and 33 percent less embodied carbon than traditional concrete walls, use 33 percent less energy overall and 55 percent less heating energy.
Its products use a proprietary material, known as Nexiite, that has comparable properties to concrete but contains no Portland cement or lime, significantly reducing end-to-end carbon emissions. Nexiite is made up of a proprietary blend of readily available ingredients, with no toxic substances, and is used to create panels for use in commercial, industrial and residential buildings. Nexii’s system also significantly reduces construction timelines.
To date, Nexii panels have been used in industrial, commercial rental units, single-story commercial buildings and retrofit projects, as well as high-performance envelope systems and residential buildings across British Columbia. Recent projects include an energy-saving exterior building envelope for a Courtyard Marriott; a first-of-its-kind sustainably built Starbucks that was constructed in six days and reducing the store’s emissions by 30 percent; and projects for clients such as Popeyes and A&W Restaurants.
“At Nexii we are incredibly proud of how far we’ve come since launching as a small startup in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 2019,” says Nexii CEO, Stephen Sidwell. “Today, we have expanded to eight manufacturing plants in operation or development across North America. We have world leaders on our board, incredible investors, technology partners, and a team of over 300 all committed to our mission of changing the construction industry, bringing high-performance sustainable building solutions to every sector of business and every area of the world.”
Nexii’s success has attracted the attention of a number of high-profile partners. Honeywell, for example, is its exclusive buildings technologies supplier. It also collaborates with Trane Technologies to create sustainable commercial buildings with significantly reduced carbon footprints and Siemens to advance the rapid delivery of high-performance total building solution.
“Never before has the work we’re doing at Nexii been so important. Buildings and construction account for 39 percent of global climate pollution making the industry the number one driver of the climate crisis,” says Nexii’s executive vice-president Gregor Robertson, who is also the former mayor of Vancouver. “To help solve this, we must address the challenge of emissions from buildings and construction. That’s what we’re doing at Nexii, and that’s why such incredible partners are attracted to working with us.”
Nexii also announced the appointment of David S. Taylor, the chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer, to its own board of directors. Taylor will assist as Nexii scales across North America, with a view to future international expansion. He joins a board that also includes Uber board chairman Dr. Ronald Sugar, Bill McNabb, the former chairman and CEO of Vanguard; and Mike Roberts, the former global president and COO of McDonald’s.
Featured image: Nexii’s manufacturing plant in Squamish, British Columbia. (Nexii)