The real estate industry now needs high quality photos, floor plans and virtual tours, so the space software vendor industry is booming. The whole thing gained momentum during the pandemic, as many property viewings migrated from physical to virtual, and this trend continues to rise.
Players in space include Walnut, Gritty, Capterra… the list goes on and on. There’s also Matterport that does virtual tours, but its clients are photographers.
In 2020, another player, Giraffe360, raised $4.5 million in a funding round led by LAUNCHub Ventures and Hoxton Ventures.
It has a robotic camera, combined with a subscription service, that allows real estate agents and brokers to generate high-resolution photos of properties, floor plans and virtual tours. The subscription gives the owner access to the camera, AI-based image processing software, and cloud storage and other services.
When real estate agents use Giraffe360, it essentially removes photographers from the process.
It has now raised $16 million in new funds led by Founders Fund, the San Francisco-based VC whose portfolio includes names like Airbnb, Spotify and SpaceX.
Existing investors LAUNCHub Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, HCVC (Hardware Club) and Change Ventures also participated.
To date, the company has raised $22 million in equity capital and $9 million in venture capital. It was founded in 2016 in Riga, Latvia by two brothers, Mikus Opelts and Madars Opelts, and is headquartered in London, UK
Giraffe360 camera
The startup is also launching the latest, improved version of its camera, the Giraffe Go Cam. This is 30% lighter, charges faster and comes with 500 GB of onboard storage. The camera uses a high-quality sensor, LIDAR laser and robotics.
Founders Fund Director Delian Asparouhov said in a statement: “Having been involved with a number of PropTech startups such as OpenDoor, we have recognized that some of these forward-thinking technology companies are not meeting their needs, meaning the mass market is definitely not getting into meet their needs. Giraffe360 was a no-brainer and is really suited to meet the needs of the market both in terms of hardware and software.”
In conjunction with the latest capital raise, Giraffe360 secured an additional $6 million in long-term loans from London-based venture capital firm Columbia Lake Partners.
Giraffe360 CEO, Mikus Opelts, commented: “We are very excited to partner with Founders Fund. It is one of the strongest brands in the VC industry, with a strong track record of supporting category-defining companies. The new Giraffe Go Cam and the funding will help transition to more immersive real estate online experiences as the world adopts a more remote, online approach to real estate.”
