Why AR, not VR, will be the heart of the metaverse

My first experience in a virtual world was in 1991 as a PhD student working in a virtual reality lab at NASA. I was using a variety of early VR systems to model interocular distance  (i.e. the distance between your eyes) and optimize depth perception in software. Despite being a true believer in the potential of virtual reality, I found the experience somewhat miserable. Not because of the low fidelity, as I knew that would steadily improve, but because it felt confining and claustrophobic to ha…

Tech and telecoms companies team to progress smart cities in Saudi Arabia

Tata Communications and Zain KSA are already working together on a smart street lighting solution for one of the key cities in the kingdom with smart waste and smart mobility also on the agenda.

Learning Lessons in Contech and Proptech

There’s an intrinsic tension between technology companies and the world. Tech wants to push forward through innovation and business opportunity and the world often interrupts to point out that sometimes solutions can incorporate significant problems. Navigating the spaces offers challenges, according to Christopher Yip, a partner at RET Ventures, a VC firm actively investing in technology in the commercial real estate space.

Prologis Appoints New Sustainability Head To Lead Warehouse Decarbonization Push

Industrial warehouse giant Prologis is putting more resources behind its climate goals with a key hire. San Francisco-based Prologis has appointed Susan Uthayakumar as the firm’s new chief sustainability and energy officer, the firm announced Tuesday, placing her in charge of the company’s wide-ranging efforts to decarbonize and achieve global carbon-neutral construction emissions by 2025.

Are we ready for the smart front door? Masonite thinks so

Door manufacturer Masonite is showcasing the first residential smart door at CES 2022, highlighting the home building industry’s shift toward embracing connected technology. The concept was announced earlier in 2021, but CES is the first chance most will have to see the door in action.

Underused Office Buildings Get New Life as Deluxe Apartments

Overhaul of 1980s office complex in Virginia raises prospect that America’s office-building surplus could be ripe for apartment conversion

Plentific acquires TouchRight Software.

Leading Proptech platform Plentific’s suite of digital property management solutions continues to expand. Today, the company announced its acquisition of TouchRight Software, an award-winning reporting app that helps real estate professionals and contractors produce fast, paperless and high-quality inspection reports.

CBRE Acquires Buildingi, Leading Provider of Occupancy Planning and Technology Services

CBRE Group announced it has acquired Buildingi, a leading provider of occupancy planning and technology services, to meet growing occupier demand for holistic occupancy management services. Buildingi will fully integrate with CBRE’s Occupancy Management team and initially transition to “Buildingi from CBRE.”

How Proptech Startups Plan to Spend Their VC Money in 2022

Proptech startups entered 2022 with a variety of plans to deploy the record $32 billion of venture capital invested in the sector in 2021, with new hires, expansion into fresh markets, and the improvement of their technology platforms top of the list. The plans come as more real estate owners and operators — both older and newer — embrace tech, and the data it can provide, for their properties….

Out of many, one: Inside proptech’s record year of M&A

A lot can change in a year.

In the spring of 2020, after the coronavirus had shuttered the U.S. economy and wrecked confidence in many commercial real estate markets, the proptech venture capital firm MetaProp made a daring prediction: The ballooning crisis would not derail or even stall proptech investment, innovation and deal flow — it would supercharge it.