Holcim backs UK startup Cloud Cycle to put machine learning in concrete trucks
What's the deal? HolcimDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has invested in Cloud CycleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a UK-based startup that turns ready-mix concrete operations into a real-time, data-driven system. The early-stage deal, announced September 9, 2026, came through Holcim MAQER VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the building materials group's corporate venture unit.
What does Cloud Cycle do? Founded in 2019, it combines in-truck sensors, edge computing, and machine learning to optimise concrete quality and mix control in transit. The technology already runs on more than 150 Holcim mixer trucks in the UK, Italy, and Switzerland.
What's the endgame? The investment will accelerate the rollout across Holcim's global fleet. The goal is end-to-end quality control that reduces returned concrete and supports low-carbon mixes such as ECOCycle.
Why now? Holcim is building out a portfolio of digital and decarbonisation tools. Cloud Cycle complements existing systems like Q-Predict, a real-time cement property prediction tool, creating multiple quality checkpoints across the value chain.
In their words: "Every truck that leaves our plants generates data that can optimize our concrete's quality, our own operations, and our customers' experience," said Ram Muthu, head of operational excellence at Holcim.
The signal: The deal marks Holcim's 21st investment through MAQER Ventures, underscoring how legacy industrial players are betting on data and machine learning to cut costs and emissions. For a company with net sales of CHF 15.7 billion in 2025, small technology bets like this one aim to modernise a traditionally low-tech supply chain.
Read more: eqs-news.com
Image credit: billjacobus1
