Startups in JLL and Lendlease's proptech accelerator in talks to put solutions to use

REGIONAL proptech accelerator programme Propell Asia has concluded, with the five startups now working with industry players to implement their products and solutions, JLL and Lendlease announced in a joint statement on Friday.

Both GorillaSpace - a marketplace for workspaces, and Talox - a cloud-based leasing and asset management platform, are in talks with Lendlease to use their products for the property developer's upcoming mixed-use development Paya Lebar Quarter.

The Business Times previously reported that Lendlease is planning a flexible workplace within Paya Lebar Quarter for larger startups, and creative and corporate teams.

GorillaSpace is also in discussions with JLL to market small office spaces. The startup is finalising seed investment and will use this fresh capital to roll out new features and expand regionally.

Through the 10-week long Propell Asia, the startups also had the chance to trial their solutions at malls in Singapore. Lauretta.io, which uses intelligent cameras and sensors as well as artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the facilities management process, conducted trials at 313@somerset and Jem. It is now pushing for its products to be used on a larger scale across key buildings in Singapore.

Meanwhile, IoT-powered (Internet-of-Things) facilities management platform Logfront conducted a trial at Lendlease's Parkway Parade. The startup plans to start raising seed funding in January 2019 to speed up the development of its proprietary sensors.

The fifth startup Nucon, an AI (artificial intelligence) site assistant for issue capture for the construction industry, launched during the first week of Propell Asia and secured its first client in week six. Nucon is looking to collaborate with other quality champions to co-develop its defect prevention technologies.

Tony Lombardo, chief executive officer Asia of Lendlease, said: "Lendlease and JLL are on the lookout for technologies that could potentially help create better places, deliver the best customer experience and drive most efficient processes in the real estate industry."

Albert Ovidi, chief operating officer of JLL Asia-Pacific, added: "Future editions of the Propell Asia accelerator programme are currently in the works. JLL and Lendlease are committed to continuing to engage with the startup ecosystem in Singapore and across Asia."