Nick Romito, co-founder and CEO of VTS
NEW YORK CITY—VTS raised $90 million in a Series D funding round, in one of the largest ever proptech venture financings. Brookfield Ventures, the technology investment arm of Brookfield Asset Management (also is a customer of VTS), led the funding. New investors include GLP, one of the world's largest investment managers that focuses on industrial assets; real estate firm Tishman Speyer; and venture capital firm Fifth Wall which helps online retailers open brick-and-mortar stores.
The funding values the real estate tech firm VTS at $1 billion according to the Wall Street Journal. The publication reports that VTS has raised a total of $197 million. VTS, whose technology helps landlords track tenant leasing, was founded in 2010 according to its website.
This latest funding marks the first time several leading institutional real estate investors have made an investment of this size in CRE technology, according to VTS. It notes that commercial real estate is a more than $15 trillion industry in the US alone. VTS states more than 700 landlords around the world manage more than 10 billion square feet of office, retail and industrial property using VTS—and in scale this compares to 3,000 buildings the size of One World Trade Center.
The company will use the latest funding proceeds to deepen its investment in its platform for leasing and asset management in the US and abroad. VTS also plans to accelerate its launch of Truva, an end-to-end commercial real estate marketplace service. The new product is expected to go live later this year.
Josh Raffaelli, managing director at Brookfield Ventures, says Brookfield has already incorporated VTS technology into their organization and they are looking forward to being a part of the tech company's future developments. Raffaelli is also joining the VTS board of directors.
“There's no truer validation as a founder when your customers invest in your product,” says Nick Romito, co-founder and CEO of VTS. “This funding will enable us to accelerate the pace at which we build the best technology for commercial real estate landlords, brokers and tenants, as we arm them with the sophisticated solutions they need to win in a rapidly changing environment.”
Co-founder and chief strategy officer at VTS Ryan Masiello opines this latest funding signifies a shift in CRE, with leading property owners playing a key role in driving change in the industry. VTS points out that its additional clients include Blackstone, LaSalle Investment Management, Hines, Boston Properties, Oxford Properties, JLL and CBRE.
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Betsy Kim
Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.
