Curated daily by our industry experts. Stay informed on how tech is shaping the real estate industry with these important headlines.
The Real Deal
Tech giants Facebook and Google are pulling out their checkbooks to back a modular housing startup. Factory_OS, which aims to build apartments more efficiently and for less money, announced the Series B Friday.
TechCrunch
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has closed a pair of funds totaling $4.5 billion, the firm confirmed in a blog post this morning. The firm has raised $1.3 billion for an early-stage fund focused on consumer, enterprise and fintech; and closed a $3.2 billion growth-stage fund for later-stage investments.
The Wall Street Journal
The office and the shopping mall are two of the things most visibly changed by Covid-19. They also have the most potential to bounce back once a vaccine is distributed, but they could look quite different.
The New York Times
With high eviction rates, substandard properties and shady legal practices, rent-to-own home businesses are one of the darkest corners of the real-estate world.
Bloomberg
Two former top Apple Inc. executives have joined Bumblebee Spaces Inc., a smart-home startup that meshes home furnishings with robotics. The San Francisco-based company has appointed Steve Zadesky as a board member and hired Nick Forlenza as a strategic adviser, said Chief Executive Officer Sankarshan Murthy, a co-founder.
PlaceTech
Workspaces must constantly evolve to become smarter, and smart tech offers the possibility of using space in more efficient, proficient ways – important as we respond to changing working habits driven by the pandemic, writes Andrew Cooke, strategic director of Bruntwood Works.
The Real Deal
Hippo founders Assaf Wand and Eyal Navon (LinkedIn). Home insurance startup Hippo has raised $350 million from Japanese insurance giant Mitsui Sumitomo. The deal comes just four months after the online insurance firm raised $150 million, valuing the company at $1.5 billion.
Bloomberg
Compass, a SoftBank-backed company that’s among the largest real estate brokerages in the U.S., has selected underwriters for a potential initial public offering, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Bisnow
After a successful New York-based pilot program over the past few months, WeWork is rolling out its On Demand offering in 160 U.S. locations. WeWork On Demand is a separate offering from monthly memberships of any size, charging $29 per day for access to a coworking location booked either days in advance or at a moment’s notice.
Fast Company
There are more than 41,000 parking spaces in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. Many of them could be put to better use, says Julian Anderson, a director at the large Australian architecture firm Bates Smart.
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