A/O PropTech offers giant sandbox for startups disrupting real estate

A/O PropTech is a European VC that officially launched last week after raising €250 million in what it describes as “permanent capital” to invest in companies disrupting the €230 trillion real estate industry. This approach sees the firm structured more like a corporation with various shareholders, rather than a traditional venture capital fund with a typical life cycle of two-to-five years. The group invests from Series A to later-growth stages and claims to be more patient with regards to the timing of any exits. A/O PropTech’s investors are described as some of the largest institutional real-estate companies in Europe that hold a pool of residential, commercial and hospitality assets. Proptech companies that the VC backs can potentially leverage these assets as a sandbox to test, pilot and “fast-track the commercial and operational scale” of their offerings, according to a company statement. To date, the firm reports eight proptech companies in its portfolio that span 14 countries and serve 200K real estate units.