Research commissioned by JLL with data compiled by Tech in Asia reveals funding for property technology start-ups dipped by 38.4% in 2019
SINGAPORE, 27 February 2020 – After reaching a high of more than US$1 billion in disclosed funding in 2018, property technology – or proptech – start-ups in Asia Pacific saw their funding decline by 38.4% in 2019.
Last year, proptech start-ups in the region raised US$625.9 million, according to research by JLL and tech media firm Tech in Asia. Deal counts also fell across the board to 38 deals in 2019 compared to 50 in 2018.
“We wanted to get a sense of the Asia Pacific proptech funding scene now compared to two years ago when we first commissioned Tech In Asia to produce Clicks and Mortar: The Growing Influence of Proptech. Fresh data from their sources shows that there’s been a significant decline in funding in the region,” says Jordan Kostelac, director of proptech, JLL Asia Pacific.
“These figures are only indicative of VC interest and they’re less reflective of what’s truly happening in our industry. In our work with clients and fellow corporates, we are seeing that interest in proptech in Asia Pacific continues to grow, with traditional players taking a strategic, integrated approach with start-ups instead of the VC investment route.
“The real estate industry has been relatively late to the tech revolution, which has given major corporates and other real estate firms a greater runway to innovate and invest internally in technology. And in Asia Pacific, where corporate tech adoption is very quick due to the dynamic nature of the markets, many companies are entering partnerships while increasing trials and deployments of new technologies in their portfolio. For instance, JLL has an extensive suite of tech solutions and we set up a global Centre of Expertise for Technology, Data and Information Management two years ago to develop new solutions harnessing the latest technologies available.”
Bright spot in pre-series A and India’s proptech scene
The infographic by Tech In Asia shows that pre-series A start-ups experienced the biggest increase in funding from US$12 million to US$26.1 million, a rise of 117.5% year-on-year. India, too, bucked the overall trend as proptech funding grew nearly 17 times from US$3.4 million in 2018 to US$56.8 million in 2019. However, India’s 2019 figure is still below that of US$91.7 million in 2017.
“India will always be on investors’ radars – its tech community has produced some of the most innovative solutions in different industries. Its proptech scene has great potential as well as deep engineering expertise and this is also why JLL partnered with Invest India to launch our accelerator JLL IDEAs last year,” adds Mr Kostelac.
Proptech, sustainability and data
Mr Kostelac projects that real estate firms will be looking to invest to tackle the tough issues of data privacy and how to use technology to achieve greater sustainability in the built environment.
“We’re living in an age where data is easily collected and data privacy needs to be taken seriously. Building owners and occupiers have to ensure adequate protection and proper management of their data,” says Mr Kostelac.
“Similarly, there is an increasing demand to ensure Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics are met in buildings and the wider real estate industry. Well-employed proptech solutions, like platforms to track and benchmark energy consumption in buildings, have the power to deliver clear sustainability benefits on these fronts.”
