CRE finance marketplace Lev raises $70M Series B, confirming TRD report

Lev, the digital commercial real estate finance marketplace, has raised $70 million in a Series B round at an undisclosed valuation. A Thursday announcement by the New York City-based startup confirmed The Real Deal’s report in March on the prospective raise. Sources familiar with the negotiations at the time estimated the company’s valuation at around $400 million, but CEO Yaakov Zar declined to comment in an interview Wednesday.

Vendor lock-in and lack of interoperability still holding smart cities back

ABI Research analysis found that smart city standards are key to unlocking the full potential but the standards ecosystem is still a diverse network and can be confusing.  

PlaceTech: How GPE is approaching innovation and embracing technology in commercial real estate

Brick-and-mortar stores are back

Just as physical retailers once outsourced their e-commerce operations, online brands are now looking for cost-effective ways to open their own stores, Richard Collings, author of Axios Pro Retail writes.

Growing Flex Space Firm The Instant Group Hires PwC Global Real Estate Head

PwC’s former global real estate leader has signed on as CEO of partnerships for The Instant Group, a growing global flexible space platform seeking to rapidly expand its offerings as hybrid work and a broader slump supercharge the flex office industry.

Shopify acquires shipping logistics startup Deliverr for $2.1B

Shopify today announced that it will acquire Deliverr, a San Francisco, California-based e-commerce fulfillment startup, for $2.1 billion in cash and stock. The deal, rumors of which were reported in April by Bloomberg, is the largest acquisition in Shopify’s history, and Shopify founder and CEO Tobi Lütke says that it will enable the company to create an “end-to-end logistics” platform for millions of merchants.

PlaceTech: In conversation with Chris Bone, CEO of Modulous, at CREtech London 2022

New Book Explores How ESG Data is Transforming a Carbon-Intense Industry

Measurabl, the world’s most widely adopted ESG data management solution for commercial real estate, today announced the release of its Founder and CEO Matt Ellis’ new book, From Green to ESG: How Data-Driven Transparency Changed Real Estate for Good.

Beckerman: tech vital to keep firms afloat

Property companies could ‘drown’ without urgent tech adoption amid climate crisis

Hotel Startup Mint House Raises $35 Million to Target Business Travelers

Mint House is seeking a back door to Airbnb’s market with a business travel focus. The New York-based startup is making apartment-style lodging with hotel-like amenities popular with corporate workers who would otherwise stay at an “upper-upscale” hotel brand such as W, Westin, or Omni.