PE investments in proptech firms up 5% in H1CY22

NEW DELHI: Private equity (PE) investment in prop-tech firms rose 5% year-on-year during January-June 2022 to $270 million, as per data shared by Housing.com. The proptech industry in India received a total of $3.42 billion in private funding, the report said.

Due to acceleration in the adoption of technologies in real estate during the Covid-19 pandemic, private equity players’ interest in investing in prop-tech firms in India has gained momentum. Housing.com, which is part of REA India that also owns PropTiger.com and Makaan.com, said that in the first of calendar year, the number of PE deals saw 1.5 times growth against the corresponding period previous year.

The average deal size in the first half of 2022 stands at $14 million, as compared to $32 million during the same period in 2021. It had earlier been reported that PE inflow in proptech rose 35% in the full year of 2021 to $741 million from $551 million in the previous year 2020.

“India is the second largest internet user in the world. This coupled with the pandemic-induced digital acceleration in itself presents a colossal opportunity for proptech space in the country. The growth is corroborated by the fact that the proptech investments in India have continued on an upward trajectory despite the global uncertainties,” said Ankita Sood, head of research, Housing.com, PropTiger.com, and Makaan.com.

The firms in the proptech space in India are constantly using innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), and virtual reality to augment the customer and consumer experience across the real estate life cycle. Along with upcoming such as metaverse and blockchain which are slowly gaining ground in India, she added.

Investments tracked include private equity, venture capital, debt, PIPE (private investment in public entities), project level investments, and pre-IPO private equity deals, at the early, growth, and late stages, it said.