Pi Labs launches ninth accelerator to tackle ‘glaring gaps’ in property

Pi Labs has launched its most international and competitive proptech accelerator programme yet, backing startups developing innovations in automation, efficiency and sustainability.

Investing in five start-ups from the UK, Canada and Israel, proptech VC firm Pi Labs’ ninth proptech accelerator programme launched this week, supporting businesses that could fill “glaring” gaps in sustainability and efficiency in property.

Pi Labs reviewed applications from more than 1,100 companies in 42 countries, five of which will now take part in a remote 16-week growth and scale-up programme. The startups will receive an initial investment, with the potential for follow-on funding, and will be mentored by sector experts.

The companies were selected on the basis of their potential to achieve at least a £100m valuation at the time Pi Labs exits its investment. They are:

• OKIBO | Developing autonomous, mobile robots for wall finishing works in construction sites
• Conwize | Cloud-based platform that helps construction companies estimate projects more accurately and win more tenders
• Audette | Digital platform that discovers carbon efficiency projects in commercial buildings and matches them with grants and low-interest financing
• Hölmetrics | Data analytics that provides insight into employee experience, allowing organisations to predict and optimise operational performance
• Honest AI | Commercial real estate technology platform that enables investors to make data-driven investment decisions.

Faisal Butt, CEO and founder of Pi Labs, said: “We selected these five startups out of 1,100+ applications after an intensely competitive process, because they can fill the glaring sustainability, ESG, operational and efficiency gaps in the real estate industry.

“Despite the continued global uncertainty due to the pandemic, we believe that property owners, developers and occupiers are presented with increased impetus to adopt proptech solutions to future proof operations and assets. Our current cohort has developed solutions in a range of proptech segments including contech, robotics, cleantech, workplace wellbeing and investment management, each of which we see as growth areas in a post-Covid world.”

Pi Labs has made 10 new investments since the start of the pandemic and, having now reached 60 in total, is aiming to grow its portfolio to 100 companies by 2025. Butt said Covid has “forced a reset” in the industry, which has historically been slow to adopt technology and now faces the urgent need to do so.

He added: “This has brought proptech solutions to the forefront of conversations on both the real estate and investment side, and we continue to actively look for the best startups that will reshape how the industry operates in the years to come.”

The company was the first proptech-focused VC firm in Europe when it was founded in 2014 and now claims to be the most active VC investor in proptech. Previous startups on its accelerator programme include LandTech, a platform that uses data analytics to help source development opportunities, and Office App, an Amsterdam-based office building tenant experience platform.