Amazon launches Counter in-store pick-up in the US, starting with 100 Rite Aid locations

Amazon’s strategy to bring more brick-and-mortar options into its vast e-commerce empire, and its ambition to sell more pharmaceutical products, today may have found themselves a little more knitted together. The company announced a new service in the US called Counter, a free in-store pick-up service where Amazon shoppers can arrange to collect packages. And its first partner in the new effort? None other than one of the bigger names in drug stores: Rite Aid….

Station F launches a co-living space for 600 startup people

Startup campus Station F is expanding beyond its original building in Paris with a co-living space called Flatmates. 600 people will be able to rent a room in shared apartments.

Compared to traditional accommodation in Paris, it’s much easier to get a room as you don’t need a French full-time work contract, guarantors and all the stupid stuff that landlords and professionals ask you — trust me, it’s a nightmare in Paris.

LeaseHawk Unveils Artificial Intelligence (AI) Leasing Assistant

LeaseHawk, a leader in multifamily technology solutions, has expanded its AI platform to include ACE AI, a virtual leasing assistant. ACE AI is the multifamily industry’s first AI-powered leasing assistant that interacts with apartment hunters 24/7 through conversational interfaces of voice, chat and text. The technology will be on display at the 2019 Apartmentalize National Apartment Association Conference in Denver, June 26-28.

Uber acquires Seattle startup Mighty AI to fuel its push into self-driving cars

Uber just made its first acquisition of a Seattle startup, swooping up Mighty AI, which develops training data for computer vision models. The deal closed today and was confirmed by both companies. Terms were not disclosed. “The team at Mighty AI has built technology to label at scale using the latest AI and user experience techniques,” Jon Thomason, vice president of software engineering for Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group, said in a statement. “Training our AI at increasing pace is cr…

CRE Costs Force Trade-off Between Flexibility, Privacy

SAN FRANCISCO—Since the close of an $85 million Series C funding round in 2018 and the appointment of Bryan Murphy as CEO in January, flexible workspace provider Breather has focused its offerings to address the trend toward longer-term hybrid real estate solutions that provide the flexibility of co-working with the privacy of traditional leases. And, in the first half of 2019, Breather added 11 new spaces in San Francisco and Los Angeles totaling 30,245 square feet, bringing its West Coast port…

Zillow launches retooled Zestimate that uses AI to analyze photographs and ‘see’ value in homes

Zillow may have paid $1 million to the winners of its Zillow Prize, a competition aimed at improving its long-running Zestimate, but it looks like some of the findings from the winning team are paying off for the home-valuation tool. The Seattle-based real-estate technology company announced Thursday that the new Zestimate is the “most sophisticated and accurate” version since it was launched in 2006. To get there, the company credits the use of real-time data as well as computer vision that …

Hines Teams Up With Industrious, Convene for Flexible Workspaces

Hines, the real estate investment firm founded by billionaire Gerald Hines, is betting on increasing tenant demand for flexible workspaces. The Houston-based firm — which oversees $121 billion in assets — is launching a new business, dubbed Hines Squared, to provide premium co-working and flexible office space in buildings it owns.

Shakeup: Data firm Credifi lays off almost a quarter of its employees, president departs

Commercial real estate data firm Credifi has laid off almost a quarter of its staff, and its president left last month, according to multiple sources. The shakeup comes just months after the Tel Aviv-based analytics startup completed a $6 million funding round at the start of the year. Sources said it had failed to attract clients from the financial industry, precipitating the departures.

PropTech’s Growing Impact on the Built Environment

As investor interest in the PropTech space continues to intensify, leaders in the real estate and technology industries have made a concerted effort to focus that interest on those start-ups with the greatest potential to make a tangible, productive impact on the built environment.  

90% Leased In 1 Week, WorkSuites Expands Uptown Location

Strong demand prompted flexible office space provider WorkSuites to open a second floor for leasing at its new Cole Avenue location this month. The company’s new site at 2626 Cole in Dallas opened June 1 with only the building’s third floor in play. Within days of the opening, the third floor reached 90% occupancy, prompting WorkSuites to add the building’s fourth floor to its offerings.