Focus

Venture capital funding for PropTech dropped sharply in 2022: CRETI report

Commercial Observer – December 14

Global venture capital funding for PropTech companies dropped from $32 billion to $19.8 billion in 2022, a decline of 38%, according to a report issued in December 2022 by the Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation (CRETI) and shared exclusively with Commercial Observer’s PropTech Insider. The global funding falloff was due to factors such as a 40-year high in inflation, as well as spiking interest and mortgage rates, according to the report. The capital decline resulted in the second-lowest investment total since 2018.

News

Contractors increasingly use digital workflows to deliver projects faster

Construction Dive - December 21

Construction professionals are bolstering their business with digital workflow tools, leading to better efficiency and higher-quality project deliveries, according to new research from Dodge Construction Network and Trimble. About half of all respondents share the majority of their project data internally using digital workflows, according to the press release. One in four do so with other stakeholders on their projects, the research found.

Redfin launches new feature that shows zoning data on home detail pages

GeekWire – December 5

Redfin has added zoning data for more than 70 million homes on its platform, becoming the first real estate site to offer such information, according to the company. Redfin is partnering with Zoneomics, an AI tool, to offer the new service.

Deals

Fifth Wall closes $866M PropTech fund

Connected Real Estate – December 20

Venture capital firm Fifth Wall recently announced the final close of its Real Estate Technology Fund III, totaling $866 million. The firm has raised more than $1 million in PropTech-related investments during the past year. When Fifth Wall was founded in 2016, PropTech was a relatively new venture category with $4 billion of capital activity. Today, it is one of the fastest-growing segments, marking a more than $30 billion per year category.

Plant Prefab secures $42M funding for multifamily expansion

Connect CRE – December 8

Plant Prefab, a building tech company dedicated to sustainable design materials and operations, has secured $42 million in Series C and other funding to support the company’s expansion into multifamily developments. The funding was led by Gerdau Next Ventures as well as several existing investors in Plant Prefab.

Doorstead raises $21.5M in Series B funding

FinSMEs – January 9

Doorstead, a San Francisco-based startup, has raised $21.5 million in Series B funding. This round, which brought total funding to $37 million, was led by Avanta Ventures, Madrona, MetaProp, and M13. Doorstead is a property management service that provides homeowners with an upfront vacancy period and a guaranteed minimum monthly rent before a tenant is placed.

Mortgage infrastructure platform Pylon raises $8.5M in seed round

HousingWire – December 6

Startup Pylon raised $8.5 million in its seed round to build a mortgage-as-a-service platform for fintechs, banks, and retail banks. Conversion Capital led the funding with participation from Fifth Wall, Peter Thiel, QED Investors, Montage Ventures, and Village Global as well as Ramp, Blend, Zillow, SoFi, and Figure.

Accacia tackles the real estate industry’s massive carbon emissions problem

Tech Crunch – December 5

The real estate and infrastructure sectors contribute about 40% of global carbon emissions, and part of solving the climate crisis is fixing how those industries work. Accacia gives large property owners a way to track their carbon impact in real time by integrating with ERPs and property management systems like Yardi. The software has already been deployed to over 20 million square feet of real estate in Asia. The company has obtained $2.5 million in seed funding that will be used to expand across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the United States, and Canada.

RXR abandons plan for $345M PropTech SPAC

The Real Deal – December 19

After nearly two years, RXR has pulled the plug on plans for a SPAC to merge with a PropTech company and will return $345 million to shareholders. The developer and landlord is an investor in the parking startup Metropolis, lease management platform VTS, ghost kitchen startup Kitchen United, office management firm Eden, and smart-glass maker View.

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