DEALS | Camber Creek raises $325m proptech fund

The real estate-focused VC firm has closed an oversubscribed fourth fund, doubling its previous fund size as it looks to grow its proptech portfolio.

With more than $500m in assets under management, Camber Creek has invested in 34 startups across the industry since 2011, including Notarize, Flex, FlyHomes, Measurabl and Latch.

Of these, almost half have either successfully exited or have become unicorns, the company said.

Jake Fingert, managing partner at Camber Creek, said: “Our focus on creating value for our portfolio companies, leveraging our industry relationships and domain expertise, has consistently given us the opportunity to partner with exceptional founders.

“Real estate has always been one of the most networked industries, and as we have continued to scale our platform, we have found that these network effects can be harnessed to create value for industry stakeholders willing to embrace innovation while driving outsized investor returns.”

Recent proptech deals

Name | Wilshire Lane Capital

Sector | Venture capital

What it does | Invests in a range of residentia tech platforms, including Esusu, Jetty and Piñata (see below)

Deal details | WLC received $40m from a group of investors that included J.P. Morgan Asset Management with the first close of its debut fund. The company is targeting a total size of $125m.

Why? | Adam Demuyakor, WLC founder and managing partner, said: “Real estate is the largest asset class in the world… in many ways, we feel that proptech is next in line after fintech and biotech and we’re so honoured to have this best-in-class slate of investment partners who share our excitement about the space.”

Name | Piñata

Sector | Residential

What it does | Builds renters’ credit and offers rewards, such as gift cards and discounts, for paying rent on time

Deal details | The startup raised $13m in Series A funding, led by WLC.

Why? | Piñata seeks to a create a “win-win model” for both landlords and renters, giving renters incentives to pay on time and to continue renting. The startup believes that, as the single largest regular expense for many people, rent can be used to offer greater benefits for those who pay it.

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Name | Alloy Automation

Sector | Retail/e-commerce

What it does | Acts as an operating system for e-commerce, allowing brands to automate a range of everyday tasks. Through integrations with other apps, users can create “recipes” that make different platforms automatically speak to each other when something happens (for example, automatically creating a Salesforce contact if a customer signs up through Shopify).

Deal details | Alloy Automation raised $20m in Series A funding, led by a16z

Why? | With the explosion of online shopping, especially since the pandemic started, there has been a sharp increase in tools for the retail sector, which can get complicated for companies to handle. Alloy tries to simplify processes while maintaining all the tools available to the retail sector.

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