Investment in low-carbon construction technology surpassed $2 billion this year as the building industry seeks ways to lower its emissions imprint in a way that could include one day storing a significant amount of the world’s carbon dioxide, a report from A/O PropTech finds. Buildings are a significant source of the world’s emissions, and much of that comes from embodied emissions, which has led to the construction industry attempting new processes such as using bio-based and reusable materials. Those advancements have led to a record $2.2 billion in investments in green construction processes in 2022, the report says.
In an effort to entice employees back into the office, companies have ramped up digestible perks like beverages and food, but a recent survey conducted by PropTech firm Essensys indicates that employees instead want better technology and flexible workstations. Of the 1,000 U.S. workers the firm surveyed earlier this year, 81% expressed frustration with their office situation, with 56% preferring better technology to enhance their ability to work, and 52% looked at the tech amenities in other buildings with envy, Commercial Observer reported.
Airbnb to launch apartment rental service and give landlords a cut
CBS News – November 30
Home-sharing service Airbnb has a pitch for renters stretched thin by inflation: Rent out your apartment to guests to offset the rising cost of living. The short-term rental service is partnering with some of the biggest landlords to helps renters find an Airbnb-friendly apartment where they can live and host at the same time. Airbnb's new partners include buildings operated by Equity Residential, Greystar, and Sentral.
REZI lands $100M in funding to further national expansion
Forbes – November 15
The rental platform REZI has secured an additional $100 million in debt funding from longtime partner Stratos Credit. REZI, an alum of the startup accelerator Y Combinator, was founded in 2016 with the goal of automating the rental process, decreasing discriminatory practices in renting, and improving outcomes for property owners.
Payments firm Billd lands $100M credit line to fund subcontractors
Construction Dive – November 16
Construction payments firm Billd secured a $100 million debt facility to fund its subcontractor customers’ short-term cash flow needs, the company announced. The warehouse-lending finance structure was led by asset-backed securities investor LL Funds, which also holds equity in the company. Billd, which was founded in 2018, is continuing its advancement into a market that is hungry for fintech service providers as more and more subcontractors turn to payments companies.
PropTech startup raises $43M led by Andreessen Horowitz
The Real Deal – December 7
Setpoint, a software startup aiming to simplify the lending process behind iBuying, has scored funding from major Silicon Valley players. The firm announced a $43 million Series A fundraising round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Other participants in the round include Brad Greiwe’s Fifth Wall and 75andsunny, the investment firm behind brokerages Side and Avenue 8.
ReadySpaces, a warehouse storage provider for small businesses, has raised $20 million as a part of an all-debt funding round, bringing the company’s total raised to $40 million. While ReadySpaces has been around in some form since 2013, it’s only in recent years that co-warehousing has become a hot trend. In a co-warehousing setup, multiple companies can use the same warehouse space — eliminating the need for the companies to invest in the infrastructure themselves.
Prophia, which extracts info from commercial real estate contracts, raises $10.2M
GeekWire – December 1
Prophia, a startup building a platform that scours and extracts key terms from commercial real estate contracts, raised $10.2 million in a Series A round led by Cercano Management, formerly Vulcan Capital. The company says its software has handled more than a million pages of documents across 1,800 locations.
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