Chicago-based Cohesion, an early-stage smart building software as a service company, has raised $6.5 million in seed funding to invest in its platform which will ultimately help building owners and operators prepare for a post-COVID-19 world when employees return to the office.

"COVID-19 has presented the commercial real estate industry with never-before-experienced pressure, forcing adaptation to reprioritized tenant needs of health and safety," Thru Shivakumar, Cohesion's CEO and co-founder, said in prepared remarks.

Shivakumar said the investments and Cohesion's technology will make it easier for building owners and operators to meet the challenges of the pandemic. The platform allows building owners and operators to predict and adapt to "their building's environment and tenants' needs."

"With this funding in place, Cohesion will continue advancing building intelligence capabilities to unlock an entirely new class of buildings that are more flexible, resilient, and data-enabled," added Steve Koch,  a new member of Cohesion's board of directors said.

In May, Cohesion released its "Voice of the Employee Survey" which found that a majority of employees want to go back to working in an office when it is safe to return.  The survey found 65% of 1,000 employees surveyed want to return to the office "sooner than later." Forty-four percent of those who said they want to return to the office hope to do so sometime in the next three months.

Investors who contributed to this round of funding are Hyde Park Angels; Frasers Property Group; Raj Gupta, executive chairman of ESD Global; and Michael Sacks, CEO of GCM Grosvenor.