Sonder and Knotel Near Deals as Real Estate Startups Snap Up Funding

A new breed of real-estate focused startups is attracting a sudden flood of venture money.

The group includes Sonder, a travel rental firm which is finalizing a deal to raise more than $200 million from investors such as Fidelity Investments, according to people familiar with the matter. Just days ago Lyric, a short-term rentals manager, announced it had raised $160 million in equity and debt from Airbnb and other backers.

Vue.ai raises $17M to equip online retailers with AI smarts

Vue.ai, a U.S./India startup that develops an AI platform to help online retailers work more efficiently and sell more, has announced a $17 million Series B round. The investment is led by Falcon Edge Capital with participation from Japan’s Global Brain and existing backer Sequoia Capital India. Parent company Mad Street Den was founded in 2014 and it raised $1.5 million a year later; Sequoia then bought into the business via an undisclosed deal in 2016. Vue.ai is described as an “AI brand” fr…

Tenant Experience Enhancements Can Be Unlocked With Technology

WASHINGTON—As technology continues to play a huge role in the commercial real estate industry, companies are increasingly spring-boarding initiatives in the form of partnerships, within a company structure, as subsets of existing companies or as standalone platforms. One example is Colliers International’s PropTech Accelerator Powered by Techstars. The program combines Techstars’ expertise in tech innovation and building accelerators with Colliers’ enterprising culture and global network….

SVN becomes first commercial brokerage to join blockchain-powered MLS

SVN International Corporation has partnered with Imbrex, the blockchain-powered multiple listing service, making it the first commercial brokerage to store its data on the blockchain. Blockchain is a digital data storage platform and transaction ledger that uses encryption and a decentralized network of servers to store the information. Proponents call it a more secure marketplace that removes the need for a third party to verify and track transactions and data.

‘Upscale Co-Living’ Will Occupy Northern Tower At Gables Station

Upscale co-living might sound like an oxymoron, but Ollie has tested the concept in Long Island City and Manhattan, and is bringing it to Coral Gables, where it is filling space in an ambitious new mixed-use, transit-oriented development project. The company touts an “all-inclusive living experience” that combines furnished micro-studios and shared suites with “extraordinary lifestyle-relevant services,” plus a full slate of amenities and activities.

Airbnb wants to get into streaming media… because why not?

Airbnb is looking to book a place in the streaming media business. The company best known for its controversial marketplace of on-demand accommodations is now plotting a foray into becoming a production studio, according to a report in Reuters. Tons of companies in Silicon Valley have taken to producing marketing features and print magazines as an exercise in branding, but Airbnb is reportedly looking to take this a step further….

A Case Study In Innovation: How Convene Reinvented The Commercial Real Estate Industry

I recently interviewed Ryan Simonetti co-founder and CEO of Convene. What I loved about the Convene model is that it displays the core element to transformation – taking one industry model and transplanting it into a related but different industry … in this case incorporating hotel concierge services into commercial real estate.

What Separates the Elite CRE Managers? It’s Right There in Your Data.

DALLAS – More and more, it’s exploiting the data at your fingertips that determine whether you’ll be part of the CRE elite or an also-ran. This, at any rate, is how Perry Levine, industry principal for RealPage, sized up the situation in a recent interview with GlobeSt.com.

Coworking Growth Continues to Accelerate, but for How Long?

Leasing activity by coworking and flexible workspace operators, which has been growing at a frenetic pace, is accelerating at an even faster clip. In our January 2019 U.S. Flexible Workspace & Coworking report, we noted that coworking inventory across the 19 markets we surveyed increased by almost 50% in the 18-month period ending in Q2 2018 to a total of 27.2 million square feet.

Knotel in talks for roughly $200M Series C funding round: sources

Flexible-office startup Knotel is in talks for a roughly $200 million Series C funding round, according to sources. The Kuwait Investment Authority is said to be one of the main investors in discussions for the round, sources said. Though the final figure is in flux, the round is expected to be around $200 million. Founded in 2016 by Amol Sarva and Edward Shenderovich, Knotel has become one of WeWork’s biggest competitors. Its most recent funding round valued the startup at $500 million, a…