Top real estate agency CREDAI and Venture Catalysts have launched a $100 million (approximately Rs 800 crore) proptech fund to support startups seeking to bring technological disruption to the real estate industry.

With over 13,000 developer members, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI), Venture Catalysts is a comprehensive incubator and startup accelerator.

The two parties collaborated to establish a $100 million PropTech fund to invest in startups bringing innovative disruption to the real estate industry.

The fund will invest in early-stage to growth-stage startups that have the potential to transform the real estate industry through technology, data analytics, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality.

The fund will invest in startups catering to all major sectors of real estate, including residential, commercial, institutional (hotels, schools, hospitals) and industrial (warehouses, factories, etc.).

Harsh Vardhan Patodia, President of CREDAI, said: “As India continues to emerge as one of the global entrepreneurial hubs, the large corpus will help deliver on the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ vision and help strengthen the commitment of the entrepreneurial community.”

The platform will support the government’s “Make in India” and “Techade” initiatives aimed at digitization. Innovation and technological advancements are expected to help the real estate industry grow from an estimated $300 billion to a $1 trillion industry by 2030, CREDAI said.

“As the Prop Tech space grows rapidly, using AR/VR or AI to help homebuyers speed up the process of closing deals will help provide better liquidity for developers as the process gradually becomes more efficient, increasing returns on assets, reducing friction and increasing transparency,” Patodia said.

CREDAI will provide startups access to its network of more than 13,000 members from 256 real estate industry sectors, such as developers, suppliers, channel partners and promoters.

It will support portfolio startups with the right guidance and work to make the real estate industry more digital. “With the advent of 5G, it is important to provide emerging entrepreneurs with a platform to disrupt the industry and introduce innovative approaches to overcome any challenges the industry is currently facing,” said CREDAI Chair-Elect Boman Irani.

Anuj Golecha, the co-founder of Venture Catalysts, said real estate was one of the few industries that saw technology adoption before the pandemic. “However, in a post-covid world, this adoption further increases to boost sales and experiences, so a dedicated fund is needed to help drive the industry’s growth,” Golecha said.

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With this fund, he hopes to support some interesting and innovative startups in the coming months. The proptech part is heavily supported by the VC community. Venture Catalysts has been actively investing in the real estate industry with over a dozen startups, including OYO, Basic, Grexter, Sharenest, Home Capital and Rentomojo.