Again X is focused on Germany – because it leads Europe’s Proptech revolution 1000%

Germany is leading the Proptech revolution in the EU as investors continue to flood into the sector. In 2021, a total of €1.26 billion was invested in European Proptech start-ups*, with Germany taking the lion’s share of investment. And as the largest commercial real estate market in the EU, Again X is firmly focused on this region.

A few years back, it was a common refrain among industry experts to remark that the 4th industrial revolution only making slow inroads into the European commercial property sector. Well, that was then…and we sincerely doubt there are very many holding this opinion now. Why? Because after a whirlwind period of venture capital investment, it’s not hyperbolic to say that Proptech in all its forms is seriously up-ending the established order in all areas of the German – and European - real estate market.

The latest investment figures for 2021 from axeleo.com (up to the end of the third quarter), showed that over €1.26 billion was invested in ‘start-up’ European Proptech companies – an increase of almost 1000% compared to 2017. The DACH Market – Germany, Switzerland, and Austria – accounted for over one third of the investment volume.

First buying and selling – but maintenance and monitoring is changing too

The transaction end of the real estate market - those involved in selling, valuing, letting, and financing commercial and private properties – has embraced new technology earlier than most. This sub-sector is thriving at present. The new business models and proven disruptive technology platforms are the reason why start-ups such as Zen Homes (cloud-based property management platform for the retail sector), Homeday (online brokerage firm for buying/selling of real estate properties) and Casani (connects tenants and property managers via cloud solutions) have attracted serious attention and money from investors (see table below for further details).

But, beyond this it’s fair to say that every area in commercial real estate is now being impacted by the disruptive potential of new building technologies, high-tech materials, new construction processes – and the powerful impact of big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.

All manner of companies – from property appraisal and building management, to facilities maintenance and building amenities – are reeling in cash. 

Start-ups offering new solutions to the management and operation of existing businesses received 20% of European VC investment. The second and third most popular sub-sectors were Property Management Tools and Data Analytics Ventures – both of which promise a quantum leap in building maintenance and refurbishment initiatives.

Proptech wide and deep in the Dach Region

Unsurprisingly, the German capital, Berlin, is a dominant force in the start-up landscape. Private companies and public bodies in Berlin have combined to demand smart solutions to advance building longevity, better management of resources, carbon-cutting initiatives and circular-economy goals. Berlin was easily ranked in the top 10 in Europe for smart city initiatives due to its focus on information technology, communication, hosting, and healthcare. But, the strength in depth of the DACH region is better illustrated by the fact that there are no less than 12 Start-up Hubs across Germany, each of which focused on a particular niche of the Proptech revolution. 

Graph courtesy of https://www.digitalhublogistics.hamburg/

What does 2022 promise?

Well, as far as Again X is able to divine, 2022 is limbering-up to be another transformative year. In the past few weeks alone, we have seen US concern Firth Wall close a €140 million fund, Berlin’s Proptech 1 Ventures close its €50 million inaugural early-stage fund; and AI focused Conxai raise €2.7 million in a pre-seed funding round. 

These deals are ground-breaking – and they are just three of a recent flood. But what excites us most is the growing recognition of the importance of property management and data analytics solutions, especially those that embed AI into their overall proposition. Again X is firmly in this space. 

Vienna-based StartUs Insights has already cited us as one of the Top 10 European companies that could disrupt the real estate market by using #AI(see Top 10 Property Technology Trends for 2022 | StartUs Insights (startus-insights.com)

We welcome this recognition but we perhaps welcome more advances in the DACH region - our core target market - because we believe we can thrive here. 

Through our pilot projects in the Nordics, Again X has proven that AI - coupled with human understanding and big data – can give property owners and investors the tools to manage their property assets more efficiently. ‍Our Artificial Intelligence (ML) algorithms help us name and manage the "unobservable", the complexity that resides in managing existing buildings, with a focus on the material and technical content, their life expectancy and end-of-use value.

Our SaaS platform has the ability to build KPI´s that allow commercial real estate owners to have better risk assessment and better planning of both investment and maintenance of their assets.

We’re a disruptive player in the most disruptive aspect of the Proptech revolution. 

* Statistics quoted from Axeleo: State of Proptech & Contech in Europe – Q3 2021 - Axeleo