I first recommended Cityzenith in August 2019. The company enables users to design, monitor, control, analyze, optimize, predict, and collaborate on physical assets all from one application. In other words, it uses “digital twin” technology — 3D virtual replicas of buildings, infrastructure and other physical assets that also contain useful data about water pressure levels, temperature settings, energy output and more.
When I first recommended Cityzenith, the digital twin visualization software provider had a $20 million valuation. Its shares went for $1. I recommended the company again last September at a $27.4 million valuation. Shares rose to $1.15. Now Cityzenith is raising on Wefunder. Its current valuation is $36.4 million, with shares going for $1.50.
Shares and valuation have increased in lockstep with the company’s improving technology and ability to capture projects both large and small.
I caught up with Cityzenith founder and CEO Michael Jansen last week. He was excited about his latest project at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. After years of neglect, the Yard — originally incorporated in 1801 — was recently rehabilitated as a thriving industrial park with more than 40 buildings and more than 250 tenants and 11,000 workers. Five of its new buildings will use Cityzenith’s digital twin technology to run building operations more efficiently and reduce their carbon dependency. The ultimate goal is for the buildings to eventually become carbon neutral.
Michael is taking a two-pronged approach to encourage carbon reduction. He’s giving local city government agencies (and universities located in the city) access to his company’s digital technology platform for free. And he’s getting major building owners and operators to pay for it.
Michael believes that both sides using the same technology will encourage private-public coordination and collaboration. He hopes it will create a cycle of mutually reinforcing efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.
Cityzenith is already active in Orlando, Florida. Michael told me he’d like to sign up five to 10 additional city governments by the end of the year. Just in Chicago’s Loop — aka “The Loop,” a downtown area of 1.5 square miles — are 170 major building owners. Michael said it’s a great way to expand the company’s business opportunities.
Cityzenith also recently captured its second major contract in the Middle East. And it’s about to begin projects in New Mexico, Ghana and Canada through its new partnership with AFG, which provides power management and other services. That amounts to almost $5 million of new project revenue for Cityzenith.
Cityzenith is also in various stages of discussion for projects worth about $11 million. The pandemic slowed things down last year. Projects (along with project payments) were delayed. It was a slog. But it also created pent-up demand. So its slew of new opportunities this year isn’t that surprising.
Cityzenith’s Wefunder raise is going well, with more than $900,000 in funding already committed. If you’re interested in investing (again or for the first time), check out Cityzenith’s raise page for more details.
As a final note, I’d say Cityzenith’s progress to date has been as expected. That said, I had high expectations from the outset. And now the company has proven its ability to plug into the construction ecosystem and play a major role.
So far, so good.