European proptech VC A/O PropTech has launched, after raising €250m permanent capital to invest in technology companies disrupting real estate, the largest asset class in the world. With its permanent capital approach, the firm is able to be stage agnostic, and a more flexible and patient investor.
A/O PropTech invests from Series A to later growth stages in breakout companies, with the potential to transform the real estate industry through technology, data science and AI.
To date, A/O PropTech has backed 10 companies, in Europe, USA, and Israel including Bricklane, Fornova and most recently Plentific – leading a $32mn Series B round in November 2019.
Some of the largest institutional real estate companies in Europe are amongst A/O PropTech’s investors, and combine a strategic pool of residential, commercial and hospitality assets in excess of €32bn.
A/O PropTech’s innovative approach is also reflected in its multidisciplinary expertise. In addition to real estate and finance professionals, A/O PropTech employs data scientists, mathematicians and engineers.
To date, pure-play European proptech VCs have been lagging behind the US in terms of funding, scale, and ecosystem delivery. A/O PropTech’s launch marks a new step towards bridging this gap for the European proptech venture landscape, with the emergence of well capitalised large-scale specialist VCs.
Gregory Dewerpe, Founder, A/O PropTech said: “As a result of the scale, granularity and historical resistance to technological disruption of the real estate industry, it will require long term capital at scale to support its transformation and digitisation.
“Investing with permanent capital allows A/O PropTech to stay agile and flexible, whilst removing the structural timing constraints found in traditional fund structures which create potential misalignments with entrepreneurs over the investment horizon.
The disruption of the real estate industry is a long-term secular trend, which we view as a generational opportunity. We are dedicated to backing visionary, bold and resilient entrepreneurs, building a powerful ecosystem with fellow VCs and endeavour to make a positive impact. An integral part of our strategy is to invest in emerging technology companies targeting sustainability in real estate and fast track them into our platform ecosystem.“
A/O PropTech’s Chief Data Officer, Othmane Zrikem, added: “We fundamentally believe in the need to gather multi-disciplinary expertise to optimise the various aspects of VC investing.
“The deployment of data science methodologies, combined with the integration of digitised processes and curated data sets, will help shape the next generation of real-estate industry operating models.”