Companies
Deals round-up | CBRE spots need for occupancy service tools
The pandemic has triggered a surge in demand for workplace management, CBRE said as it snapped up tech services business Buildingi.
Buildingi helps companies understand their individual workplace management needs and provides tools for occupancy planning.
Services include:
- Integrated workplace management systems: Buildingi provides advice on IWMS tools in order to pinpoint the systems that meet user needs
- Occupancy planning: Buildingi captures occupancy data to provide visualisations and analytics on how occupiers should use their office space
- CAD and BIM: The platform manages building records with a cloud-based system that allows a user to track all CAD and BIM drawings for all its projects in one place
CBRE will integrate Buildingi into its occupancy management team in order to offer a more extensive range of services.
Susan Wasmund, managing director in occupancy services at CBRE, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted more companies to reimagine their workplace and occupancy strategies as they look to provide employees with more flexibility as they return to the office.”
CBRE said that the acquisition, which includes Buildingi’s shared service centre in Costa Rica, allows it to provide 24/7 occupancy planning services, including technical drawing and planning services, spatial data management, work order processing and test fit support.
Bill Nolan, CEO of Buildingi, said: “By joining forces with the world’s largest real estate services company, we can help clients even more as they return to the office through our integrated and experienced sales team and a complete technology product offering.”
Recent proptech deals
Name | Enview
Sector | 3D visualisation
What it does | Enview tries to solve complex challenges in digital twin technology with AI through object recognition, feature extraction, feature-based change detection, 2D and 3D measurement and attribution
Deal details | Matterport acquired the company for $35.5m
Why? | Matterport said the acquisition would accelerate the development of its “next-generation spatial data analytics platform”, making the operations and management of physical space more efficient while providing insights into buildings.
Name | CONXAI
Sector | Construction
What it does | CONXAI takes transactional, sensor and historical data from construction projects to create insights in an effort to make the sector more efficient
Deal details | The startup raised €2.7m in a pre-seed funding round co-led by Earlybird and Pi Labs. Other investors include A/O PropTech and Argonautic Ventures.
Why? | An estimated 90% of data generated during construction remains unused and up to 30% of it is lost, leading to “massive knowledge loss”, CONXAI said. There is potential to unlock “hundreds of billions of dollars” in new economic value, the startup said.
Name | TouchRight Software
Sector | Property management
What it does | Helps real estate professionals and contractors produce paperless inspection reports, including inventories, midterms, check-ins, check-outs, HMO and Legionella risk assessments
Deal details | Proptech platform Plentific, which raised $100m in August, acquired TouchRight for an undisclosed sum
Why? | TouchRight claims to cut operational overhead by as much as 50%
Name | Veya
Sector | Residential
What it does | Veya is a title deed analysis tool for agents, which provides comprehensive property reports outlining risks and opportunities in a given property
Deal details | Veya raised £0.5m in seed funding from “several angel investors”
Why? | The startup aims to remove uncertainty from property sales by offering as much information about a home upfront