As demand for real estate VR booms, Founders Fund leads $16M round into Giraffe360 platform - TechCrunch

The spot manufacture present requires precocious prime photographs, level plans and virtual tours, truthful the manufacture for bundle providers successful the abstraction is booming. The full are was accelerated during the pandemic erstwhile galore spot viewings migrated from carnal to virtual, and this inclination has continued to tick upwards.

Players successful the abstraction see Walnut, Stonly, Capterra… the database goes on. There is besides Matterport which does virtual tours, but its clients are photographers.

Back successful 2020, different player, Giraffe360 raised $4.5 million successful a backing circular led by LAUNCHub Ventures and Hoxton Ventures.

It has a robotic camera, combined with a subscription service, which enables existent property agents and brokers to make high-resolution photos of properties, level plans and virtual tours. The subscription gains the proprietor entree to the camera, an AI-based representation processing bundle and unreality storage, and different services.

When property agents usage Giraffe360, this fundamentally removes photographers from the process.

It’s present raised $16 cardinal successful caller funds led by Founders Fund, the San Francisco-based VC, whose portfolio boasts names specified arsenic Airbnb, Spotify and SpaceX.

Existing investors LAUNCHub Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, HCVC (Hardware Club) and Change Ventures besides participated.

To date, the institution has raised $22m successful equity and $9m successful task debt. It was founded successful 2016 successful Riga, Latvia by 2 brothers, Mikus Opelts and Madars Opelts, and is headquartered successful London, U.K.

The startup is besides launching the latest, upgraded mentation of its camera, branded the Giraffe Go Cam. This is 30% lighter, which complaint faster and comes with 500 GB of on-board storage. The camera uses uses a high-specification sensor, LIDAR laser and robotics. 

Founders Fund main Delian Asparouhov said successful a statement: “After being progressive successful a fig of PropTech startups specified arsenic OpenDoor, we’ve recognised that immoderate of these tech guardant companies aren’t having their needs met, which means that the wide marketplace decidedly isn’t having their needs met. Giraffe360 was a no-brainer, and is truly good suited to conscionable the needs of the marketplace from some the hardware and bundle front.”

In conjunction with the latest equity raise, Giraffe360 secured further $6m successful semipermanent loans from the London-based task indebtedness supplier Columbia Lake Partners.

Giraffe360 CEO, Mikus Opelts, commented: “We are precise excited to spouse up with Founders Fund. It is 1 of the strongest brands successful the VC industry, with a beardown way grounds of backing category-defining companies. The caller Giraffe Go Cam and backing volition assistance usher the modulation toward much immersive experiences of properties online, arsenic the satellite takes connected a much remote, online attack to properties.”