US-headquartered property consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle has established a corporate venturing vehicle in India that will invest in real estate technology startups, TechCircle reported yesterday.
The unit, JLL India Real Estate Technology Ventures, is being overseen by the firm’s local subsidiary, JLL India, and is headed by Anuj Nangpal as CEO.
Technologies the unit will fund include property management software, geographic information systems (GIS), visualisation and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, sustainable energy, water efficiency, smart buildings and city applications, data analytics, home automation and the internet of things.
Real Estate Technology Ventures plans to back between 10 and 15 startups in the next 12 to 18 months, and will target those requiring between $100,000 to $2m to advance from the proof-of-concept stage.
The fund’s first deal is an investment of undisclosed size in JBR Interio Technologies, the India-based operator of interior design platform Foyr, which raised almost $1m from Astarc Ventures in May 2015. The fund plans to announce investments in another three startups by the end of 2016.