This Week in Proptech

Aug 21

Written By CRETI

This week in proptech was an exciting week in real estate tech venture capital with headline-grabbing deals in flex space, sustainability, residential and commercial technology. Early-stage investing continues to flow into residential technology, while established businesses, WeWork and Airbnb, dominated headlines with funding and IPO announcements.

The largest round went to ICON, a construction tech 3D printing startup based in Austin, Texas. The company raised $35 million Series A round led by Moderne Ventures. The latest round of capital brings the company’s total investments to $44 million. The funding will support the company as it continues to develop its 3D printing technology, design and build innovative 3D printed homes and advance its mission to provide cost-efficient and eco-friendly housing.

The second-largest round went to Loge, a Seattle-based company that raised US$ 15 million in a Series A lead by Round House, Brighton Jones Investment Partners, Colfam, and other investors. The outdoor-adventure hospitality startup will use the capital to expand into new markets.

The third-largest round went to PadSplit, an Atlanta-based residential marketplace for low income housing. The company raised US$ 10 million, lead by Core Innovation Capital with participation from Alate Partners, Citi, Kapor Capital, Impact Engine and Cox Enterprises.

What Does This Mean?

The third week of August witnessed a variety of investments across multiple sectors and locations. The variety of investments is also met with a range of early-stage seed to Series A investments from international technology investors and private equity.

The biggest takeaway was Airbnb's confidential IPO paperwork filing. The flex hospitality company has submitted a draft registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. While Airbnb did not disclose its financial information nor did it specify how many shares would be offered, plans to go public may come as early as Q3 or Q4 of 2020.

The second biggest take away was Softbank's continued investment in the high profile flex office company. While the investment comes with continued historical scrutiny of both investor and company, the investment comes at a time of stronger financial discipline and public relations repositioning as a propco and not a technology company.

Another big takeaway from this week in venture capital is the focus on technology and innovation in sustainability. While the sector addresses long term challenges in the built world, the focus on economic, environmental, and social impact has been top of mind amongst big brands and real estate organizations.

The last takeaway from this week in proptech was the variety of early-stage investments in residential real estate tech in Europe. While the residential real estate technology sector has traditionally been the cornerstone of the US proptech market, in terms of deal volume, increased investor interest in residential real estate tech in Europe has seen a surge in investor activity.