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Among other benefits, reAlpha Tech Corp. (reAlpha) offers an artificial intelligence engine that analyzes the investment potential and performance of rental properties, specifically short-term vacation properties, for use by individual and institutional investors. To further its efforts, buoyed largely by the ongoing proliferation of AI in proptech, the company has acquired a 25-person AI development firm, Naamche, in a cash and equity deal.
Inman learned of the transaction in a Dec. 4 press release, in which Giri Devanur, CEO of reAlpha, said that the intersection of technology and real estate has never been busier, and being able to navigate never more critical.
“We are excited to bring the company’s experienced leadership, unique capabilities and mutual desire to help lead the real estate industry’s technological revolution. This transaction aligns with our strategy to methodically build and scale an enterprise with best-in-class AI-powered solutions,” Devanur said.
Naamche will integrate into reAlpha’s larger operational framework, aligning the strengths of both companies, according to the release.
ReAlpha’s application, which is also delivered via a mobile companion app, scans 100 data points for a property to produce a proprietary score, called Brain, relating to its investment potential. The company takes into consideration local ordinances, environmental factors, comps, market trends, rental rates and other pertinent performance indicators to offer users a transparent breakdown of potential value, annual income and long-term ROI.
The company also offers a retail-grade fractional investing platform providing a wide range of users the ability to establish a stake in Airbnb homes and other STR opportunities. Its GenA product uses its AI to create marketing content for STR hosts, similar to what many tools in the residential sales space do for listing agents.
About a year ago, reAlpha secured a $200 million financing facility from Churchill Real Estate.
“The financing facility provides reAlpha with additional financial flexibility to accelerate investments in experiential and rent-ready vacation homes upon the completion of its Regulation A offering,” the company stated in a November 2022 press release.
Naamche is a Nepal-based custom AI product development firm that helped reAlpha build much of its core offering. All of its employees will become part of reAlpha.
Ramesh Pathak, Naamche’s founder and CEO, will continue as president of the firm he started, albeit under Devanur’s leadership.
“Naamche’s capabilities align with reAlpha’s vision to offer a broad spectrum of practical real estate-focused services and AI technologies to its global community,” said Pathak, in the release. “Joining forces with reAlpha’s formidable technology stack, wide distribution network, and access to talent will solidify our position in an increasingly competitive market. Together, we will be better positioned to build a future where real estate owners, investors and operators have the seamless and efficient digital experiences they need wherever they are.”
ReAlpha’s suite of tools overlaps with multiple fast-moving trends in proptech: fractional investing and AI. Fractional, Ark7, Arrived Homes, Groundfloor and others offer a range of technology-backed models for all types of investors to become part owners of the real estate ecosystem. Summer, Ember and Pacaso are more lifestyle-based fractional investment companies, focusing more on ownership and occupancy than ROI.
“ReAlpha will leverage Naamche’s AI, machine learning, data engineering, and marketplace creation technologies and capabilities to advance its strategy to deliver innovative real estate AI solutions,“ the release stated. ”Naamche’s expertise will help expand reAlpha’s product portfolio and bolster its research and development program.“
