By: Stephen Sidwell
Nexii Chief Executive Officer
As I mentioned in Part 1 of my year-end wrap up, it’s time to celebrate some of our key milestones and significant stakeholders as 2021 comes to a close. In my previous blog, I discussed the incredible partnerships Nexii developed throughout 2021 to continue our trajectory, bringing game-changing innovation to the building sector. In this blog, I will highlight some 2021 growth milestones and the team making our dreams for change a reality.
Fastest Canadian Company to reach Unicorn Status
In September, we announced reaching unicorn status by attaining a valuation of over US
$1 billion in under thirty-one months, making Nexii the fastest company to reach this milestone in Canadian history. When we achieved unicorn status, Nexii’s total equity raised was over USD 109M (CAD 125M) with a post-money valuation on our last raise of USD 1.23B (CAD 1.55B).
Nexii valuation is indicative of the scale of the opportunity we are pursuing, disrupting one of the world’s biggest industries with breakthrough technology and a new way to build. We are genuinely grateful for the confidence given to us by our investors in our vision and strategy.
Purchase of Omicron
In July, we completed the purchase of Omicron, one of the largest integrated development services, design and construction firms in Western Canada. Nexii had worked as a partner with Omicron since February 2019, collaborating on the engineering and design of multiple projects, including our plant in Squamish, B.C. and the Marriott hotel currently under construction with PEG. Our businesses always shared a vision of revitalizing the construction and building industry through innovation and technology, moving away from traditional practices that are less efficient and significantly contribute to environmental impacts worldwide. It was a natural evolution of our companies to come together and excellent fit for their team to join ours. I know the combined offerings of our companies enhance our ability to deliver faster, greener, more efficient projects for all our clients going forward.
Expanded Board of Directors
This year, Nexii’s distinguished Board of Directors expanded to include additional members. In early 2021, we welcomed F. William McNabb, former CEO of Vanguard and Dr. Ronald Sugar, Chairperson of Uber, to the Nexii Board of Directors. In September, David S. Taylor, Procter and Gamble’s Executive Chairman, joined us.
Each of our Board members is an established leader with a deep commitment to sustainability, speed, and quality. The expertise and guidance provided by the entire Nexii Board of Directors are critical as Nexii scales to explosive growth. Their participation in our journey is a testament to our vision, and we are thankful for their support.
Reuters Product Innovation Award Winner
A truly unexpected honor was being selected as the winner in the Product or Service Innovation category at the 12th Reuters Events: Responsible Business Awards in October, 2021. The Responsible Business Awards recognize businesses challenging the status quo and leading the way to a sustainable future and serve as a benchmark for businesses from across the globe looking to showcase leadership against their international peers.
In choosing Nexii for this prestigious award, judges commented they were “impressed to see such scalable innovation…for a key sector where impact is important, and there is a lot of opportunity ahead.”
To win this award and be recognized for our accomplishments in a new highly competitive category for our work to change the construction industry is absolutely thrilling.
Team Nexii
All of this tremendous growth and accomplishments are nothing without the incredible commitment and passion of our team. Our amazing 
staff bring their genius to work every day and are the ones truly changing the world. We almost doubled from 2020 to 2021, and now have over 350 dedicated employees all working together to tackle the climate impacts of buildings and the construction industry. We know Nexii can – and is already – making a difference, and in 2022, I have zero doubt our team will continue to achieve great things and positive change on a broad scale. I am humbled and honored every day to work with the people of Nexii.
With such a monumental year of rapid growth, partnerships, and collaboration for Nexii in 2021, I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved with the Nexii journey. 2022 promises to be a year of mind-blowing growth for us as we innovate and scale to build a vibrant future for people and the planet. I look forward to seeing you along on that journey.
