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Venture capital firm Prudence has raised and closed on an $80 million tranche to back early-stage technology companies targeting the built world, which encompasses construction, real estate, infrastructure, and climate/energy adaptation, Inman learned in a Mar. 7 press release.
With the closing of Fund III, the company said it has $230 million in assets under management and has invested in industry-leading companies such as Compass, commercial property data company Crexi, and CASAFARI, a property search portal in Europe. The company targets companies in seed- to B-stage rounds, and prefers to lead or co-lead, according to the release. Its previous fund was raised in 2020 in stealth mode, per startup parlance, and closed at $65 million.
Gavin Myers is managing partner of Prudence and said in a statement that his firm’s limited partners’ support of its internal analysis is crucial to the fund’s long-range growth.
“Companies in the built environment have pushed the boundaries of what can be accomplished with people and processes, and their futures will be defined by how effectively they can solve pain points with software and automation,” Myers said. “We are excited to continue investing behind best-in-class founders who are transforming through the development of advanced software solutions, data infrastructure capabilities, and artificial intelligence applications.”
Prudence said it aims to invest in 10-15 companies per fund and seeks to support its founders through active roles as both an investor and board member.
The term “built world” is a euphemism for actual physical real estate, so-coined to demark business endeavors within the rising category of data-driven solutions and virtual use of real estate, and also to contrast with the concept of “digital twins,” which refers to computerized representations of existing property. Its use is growing directly with proptech’s rising influence on Wall Street.
Prudence’s third fund is already rooted, having backed AI Clearing, an automated construction project tracking system, and two property management solutions, Propexo and VendorPM.
Higharc, a construction company proptech, announced a Series B round of $53 million on Feb. 16, six months after its $15 million raise.
The Center for Real Estate Technology and Innovation (CRETI) reported that 2023 experienced a more than 42 percent drop in proptech funding, down a second consecutive year. Yet, funds appear busy this year. Other proptechs receiving funding of more than $10 million this year include Parspec, PermitFlow and Collov.
