Proptech — Dynamics in the real estate industry

Mean­while, PropTech is a real hype among VC inves­tors. But when we deci­ded in 2015 to estab­lish Vito ONE as the first fund in Germany to specia­lize in this area, few had reco­gni­zed the great oppor­tu­ni­ties. For us, PropTech encom­pas­ses the entire value chain — from the real estate market to the cons­truc­tion and energy sectors. We are talking about econo­mic sectors of immense size. This is what makes the topic so attrac­tive for us as a VC inves­tor. Global sales — in the cons­truc­tion indus­try alone — are esti­ma­ted at $13 tril­lion. And these fast-growing markets are still very frag­men­ted and, above all, little digitized.

We assume that the topic of PropTech is ente­ring a decisive phase. The numbers bear this out: in 2017, VCs inves­ted over $5 billion in PropTech — more than 150 times the $33 million inves­ted in 2010. The situa­tion is simi­lar for Cons­truc­tion­Tech: Invest­ments here increased by 30 percent in 2017 compared to the previous year.

Since we occu­p­ied the topic with Vito ONE at a very early stage, we were able to build up a rele­vant network. We provide our port­fo­lio compa­nies with access to part­ners, custo­mers, talent and other capital.

For me, it is clear that we can only move forward toge­ther in Germany and in Europe. We need to agree on funda­men­tal issues and speak with one voice. This is also the only way to promote and secure tech­no­lo­gi­cal excel­lence throug­hout Europe. For this, howe­ver, we need new ways and open plat­forms that enable grea­ter networ­king among all play­ers and, at the same time, earlier access to know­ledge, talent, tech­no­lo­gies and capi­tal for all. The exam­ple of the uber-tech loca­tion Sili­con Valley shows very clearly how important a func­tio­ning ecosys­tem is — and will be even more important in the long term.

As a VC, I natu­rally also have a social respon­si­bi­lity. That’s exactly why I’m a co-foun­der of the 1E9 think tank, which is essen­ti­ally a cura­ted network that looks at future tech­no­lo­gies. In other words, 1E9 is an inter­na­tio­nal commu­nity of thought leaders and entre­pre­neurs united by the vision of crea­ting a posi­tive opti­mi­stic picture of the future. To ensure that the ideas gene­ra­ted in the think tank also reach a broad public, 1E9 includes its own tech maga­zine, which is backed by the former WIRED Germany team. Inci­den­tally, the offi­cial launch of the project will be a confe­rence in Munich on July 11, 2019. For those who want to be there: Use the code “FYBx1E9” for a 20 percent discount on tickets. I would be happy to meet many there!

In a rela­tively short time, we have built up a top port­fo­lio with 20 invest­ments. In doing so, we focus on the whole of Europe. Nordic start­ups in parti­cu­lar are very strong in PropTech, which is why we just closed our second invest­ment in Norway. As I said, our invest­ments are found along the entire value chain: for exam­ple, we are inves­ted in Buil­ding Radar, an AI-powered search engine for cons­truc­tion projects, the compu­ter vision startup for the cons­truc­tion phase Imerso, and the housing plat­form home.ht. But it also includes start­ups like gridx or simpli­nic, both IoT provi­ders for the energy sector and hospi­tals, respec­tively. We were able to complete a successful exit in 2018 with the digi­tal real estate broker Home­day to Axel Springer.

About Vito One
Vito One is not a new name for the early-stage inves­tor Vito Ventures, but another invest­ment arm around the Viess­mann Group. Vito One invests between 50,000 and 300,000 euros in the pre-seed and seed phases. Vito One invests in compa­nies from the IoT, energy and PropTech segments.

About Daria Saharova
Vito One is mana­ged by Daria Saha­rova. The Munich resi­dent by choice was previously Prin­ci­pal at Vito Ventures, Invest­ment Mana­ger at Seven­Ven­tures and Asso­ciate at KMC Capi­tal and Holtz­brinck Ventures. She also gained expe­ri­ence as the foun­der of Bellegs.