Vonovia & Founders Factory powers new proptech startups in urban living
Founders Factory, the global startup studio, and Vonovia, Europe’s biggest housing company providing homes to one million people, are joining forces to build new tech startups. Underpinned with the mission of meeting the demands of expanding built areas, the new venture studio will deliver new tech innovations that support the scaling and availability of affordable as well as climate neutral housing. In the initial phase of the projects, Vonovia provides financial support and a strategic advantage. In return, the housing company receives minority shares in each startup.
The Vonovia/Founders Factory venture studio will partner with ambitious entrepreneurs to create new property, finance and climate startups. Founders will work closely with Vonovia and Founders Factory to utilise groundbreaking technologies to bridge the gap between the needs of the population and the spaces they inhabit and support the emergence of smart, connected cities. This partnership will explore how frontier technologies, such as generative AI, digital twins, and intelligent infrastructure, can be applied to address the challenges and opportunities of modern urban living.
The new venture studio combines Vonovia’s unique data and insights as Europe’s largest residential company with Founders Factory’s proven track record of building climate tech, fintech and mission-led startups. As a result, it presents a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to bring positive change in the DACH-region by tackling some of its biggest social, environmental and financial challenges – such as climate change and shifting population demographics.
Alexander Weihe, Head of Innovation and Business Building Vonovia SE said; “As the biggest housing company in Europe Vonovia’s strategy on sustainability and innovation has been setting standards in the property sector for several years. Vonovia aims to achieve a near climate neutral building stock by 2045 and affordable living remains a cornerstone of our activities.
We therefore need the best innovations from start-ups to make our buildings and neighbourhoods sustainable and climate neutral. The collaboration with Founders Factory will produce new solutions that our society urgently needs. We are opening up access to our expertise to support entrepreneurs who want to bring about positive change.”
Henry Lane Fox, Founders Factory CEO added; “Germany’s shifting population demographic, increasing urbanisation and climate change are challenges where innovation and entrepreneurship can be leveraged to find a solution. This mission is at the core of our partnership with Vonovia.”
Founders Factory has a track record of creating, spinning out and investing in groundbreaking tech startups. Previous Founders Factory venture studio companies that have taken on the biggest environmental, social, and financial issues associated with the property space include BuiltAI, Materials Nexus, Tembo, Furbnow, Acre, Hammock and EcoNest.
Founders Factory builds and funds startups together with exceptional entrepreneurs and the world’s leading companies. Created by IPO-exited founders and operating globally, including London, New York, Berlin, Milan and Singapore, Founders Factory offers founders capital, operational support from a team of hands-on experts, and unrivalled access to a coalition of industry leading corporate partners.
Founders Factory’s Venture Studio co-founds businesses from inception, developing new ideas, technologies and business models into high growth companies. Operating sector-focused Accelerator programmes and Venture Funds for pre-seed and seed stage startups, Founders Factory invests in talented and diverse founding teams across industries and geographies – with a current focus on FinTech, Health, Climate, and Deep Tech.
Since 2015, Founders Factory’s 300+ portfolio companies have raised $1bn+ follow-on funding from leading funds and investors.
Vonovia provides a home for over one million people. The housing company is at the center of society, which is why Vonovia’s activities never just have an economic perspective, but always a social one as well. Vonovia is involved in finding answers to the current challenges on the housing market. The company is committed to greater climate protection, increased age-appropriate housing, and good coexistence in neighbourhoods.
The Bochum-based company has been listed on the stock exchange since 2013. The shares were included in the DAX in September 2015. Vonovia employs around 12,000 people. Chairman of the Management Board is Rolf Buch.
Andrew Stanton’s PROPTECH-X ‘Proptech & Property News’ in association with Estate Agent Networking & News Now publications. #proptech #property #realestate #digitaltransformation #startups
Andrew Stanton Founder & Editor of 'PROPTECH-X' where his insights, connections, analysis and commentary on proptech and real estate are based on writing 1.3M words annually. Plus meeting 1,000 Proptech founders, critiquing 400 decks and having had 130 clients as CEO of 'PROPTECH-PR', a consultancy for Proptech founders seeking growth and exit strategies. He also acts as an advisory for major global real estate companies on sales, acquisitions, market positioning & operations. With 100K followers & readers, he is the 'Proptech Realestate Influencer.'
