Trying to get VC money from SoftBank? Here’s what you need to know about Masayoshi Son’s strategy

Startups backed by Japanese billionaire Masayoshi Son’s Vision Fund are reporting back on what it’s like to be part of the SoftBank “family” and there’s a few key takeaways. First, be prepared for last-minute trips to Japan to meet the SoftBank Group chairman and CEO in person. Founders recounted to CNBC that they received sudden calls with the same message: “Masa wants to see you tomorrow.”

Starting a tech revolution in real estate

It wasn’t too long ago that the latest trends in real estate technology were virtual reality tours and drone photography. Now, agents are having to explore what were once far-out concepts like artificial intelligence, machine learning, geofencing and blockchain. There has been an explosion in recent years not only of the technology available to agents, but also the money being poured into the tech side of the business.

Rentlogic lands millions to grade NYC real estate for renters and landlords

A company called Rentlogic has raised $2.4 million to take the guesswork out of determining whether that cheap, beautiful New York apartment is actually a deathtrap wrapped in a brownstone’s clothing. Renting in New York is murder already, but using Rentlogic, apartment hunters can figure out if their new housing situation could actually kill them (or put them at significant risk of bodily or property harm… or even minor inconveniences)….

The VC vice: Why some in the industry see venture cash as a mixed blessing

The surge in venture investment has been a boon to real estate tech startups, nurturing hope that the industry can finally catch up to more technologically advanced sectors like finance. But some see the flood of venture cash as a mixed blessing. For starters, raising millions of dollars early can make it harder to raise money later — that’s because the initial money can come with a high valuation that future investors may balk at.

Guest Blog – Value of Tech in Off-Market Deal Making

By Richard Sarkis, Co-founder & CEO at Reonomy Anyone in commercial real estate knows that relationships are the gateway to success, especially for off-market transactions. Whether that means building relationships with new buyers, sellers, or investors, contacts are the key to off-market success. Some potential sellers question how the accuracy of property valuation can be achieved in an off-market transaction. Others believe, however, that the analyses composed by financial and mark…

The venture capital gold rush

When Jamie Hodari started looking for funding for his New York-based co-working startup, Industrious, in 2012, he didn’t even bother talking to venture capital firms.

“We were just so confident that VCs didn’t fund real estate that it wasn’t worth trying,” he said.

Bixby Partners with TransitScreen to Bring Public Transportation Information to Building Residents

Bixby announced this week that it is partnering with real-time mobility data platform TransitScreen. NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, August 1, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ — Bixby, a leading real estate technology company offering a cloud-based set of tools and services that enable property management teams to provide tenants and residents with a more connected, efficient and sustainable building experience, announced this week that it is partnering with real-time mobility data platform T…

How big is the proptech or real estate tech industry?

Here are some statistics about the real estate tech industry:

• Venture investors sank $18.6 billion into real estate property technology — known as proptech — firms from 2015 to 2017, and more than 25 percent of that came in the fourth quarter of last year alone, according to a report from real estate tech research and marketing agency Re:Tech.

Google’s parent company just reached an agreement with Toronto to plan a $50 million high-tech neighborhood

Sidewalk Labs — the urban-innovation arm of Google’s parent company, Alphabet — just got the green light to plan a high-tech neighborhood on Toronto’s waterfront. On Tuesday morning, the board of Waterfront Toronto, the organization administering revitalization projects along the Canadian city’s waterfront, unanimously agreed to work with the company to design the neighborhood. Final approval to physically develop the plans is likely to happen next year….

InVia Robotics raises $20 million to expand its subscription-based warehouse automation platform

InVia Robotics, a startup that provides fulfillment centers with automated robotics technology, has raised $20 million in a series B round of funding led by Point72 Ventures, with participation from Upfront Ventures and Embark Ventures. Los Angeles-based InVia Robotics is effectively a robotics-as-a-service platform providing ecommerce distribution hubs with next-gen warehouse automation technologies. The InVia Picker, for example, works in collaboration with humans to transfer goods from she…