New $212M Venture Fund Goes All In On Real Estate

[Dustin Ruhl]

Software is drastically changing almost every aspect of our economy, but many opportunities in the real estate industry remain untapped. Brad Greiwe and Brendan Wallace, founders of the real estate tech venture capital firm Fifth Wall Ventures, aim to change this. They have raised $212 million this year, with an investment focus on real estate. Not only is their focus unique, but so is the fact that both Greiwe and Wallace have extensive real estate experience, a rarity in the venture capital world. The opportunity for venture capitalists in real estate should be huge, as it is the largest industry in the U.S., and some of the most successful recent startups, such as Airbnb and WeWork, fit directly into the real estate category. However, the challenges of venture capitalists in the real estate arena are much different than the typical VC endeavor. In general, the real estate industry has not embraced new technology, so most ideas are good, as there may be no tech solution at all for many things. Because of this, choosing real estate tech investments relies less on the specific technology that a company is creating, and more on their ability to sell that tech to the big players in the industry. This is also why $110 million of the $212 million fund is provided by seven major members of the real estate industry; the money allows Greiwe and Wallace to go out and find the tech that is needed by these big industry voices. Greiwe and Wallace hope to tap into this extensive market, and be the connection between the biggest players in real estate, and the innovators that are going to help to redefine how we relate to our environments.

Key Takeaways:

• Real estate is the largest US GOP market. This is a profitable space to operate in.
• Commercial real estate provides big money. Also business will always need office space.
• The firm raised a lot of capital so they are positioned to be a powerhouse in the venture capital realm.

"Fifth Wall’s goal, Greiwe and Wallace note in a blog post published Tuesday, is to “act as the connective tissue between the world’s largest owners and operators of physical space and the entrepreneurs and innovators redefining how the world uses and interacts with their environments.”"

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2017/05/02/new-212m-vc-goes-all-in-on-real-estate-can-an-innovative-model-force-change-in-a-dusty-industry/