Investment and Funding Roundup: Realiste, Rentify, Placy

This week's funding roundup is all about AI-powered platforms. We'll start in UAE...

Asia: Realiste closes $2M seed round and sets sights on global expansion

Dubai-based AI-driven real estate platform Realiste has closed a $2 million seed round and says it has already secured $1 million of a planned $3 million pre-series A raise.

Founded in 2023 by CEO Alex Galt, Realiste uses AI to aggregate and analyse real estate data from more than 400 sources to help users identify investment opportunities across global markets.

In 2024, the company posted $5.6 million in revenue and a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $68 million from 118 transactions across seven cities.

The company says its tools assess infrastructure projects, demand-supply dynamics, and long-term development trends to guide investors. It currently supports AI-powered search in 134 cities.

Realiste is targeting $12.5 million in revenue and $150 million GMV in 2025 from 300 deals across 20 cities. The company claims a business valuation of $40 million and is aiming to double that within a year.

Rentify raises $500K to scale AI-powered rental platform

UAE-based rental proptech startup Rentify has raised $500,000 in pre-seed funding as it looks to expand its AI-powered property management tools.

The company offers landlords features such as tenant verification, predictive analytics, real-time alerts, automated rent collection, and a communication platform.

Tenants benefit from streamlined onboarding and a “rent now, pay later” option that lets them spread annual rent payments—typically paid upfront in the Middle East—into monthly instalments.

“With the funding for Rentify, we aim to accelerate growth, onboard more properties and enhance its technological capabilities,” said co-founder and COO Ranjeel Kumar. “The investment will also drive strategic partnerships and expand the Rentify Rewards program.”

Rentify currently operates in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The company says it has onboarded AED1.5 billion ($405 million) worth of rental properties to date.

Europe: Placy prepares for seed round as AI assistant tools gain traction

Cyprus-based proptech startup Placy is preparing for a seed round following the rollout of its white-label AI tools for the real estate industry.

The company raised €1 million ($1.1 million) in pre-seed funding from Zubr Capital in late 2023 to scale Placy Pro, its AI-driven B2B solution for agents, and invest in development of Placy Assistant, a B2C tool for property buyers and sellers.

Placy claims that its AI phone system can handle leads after hours, transcribe calls in multiple languages, and automate responses in real time. According to the company, Placy Pro captures 67% of after-hours inquiries, with 88% automatically qualified.

“On average, Placy Pro saves an agent about 30 work hours per month, which amounts to approximately 2.5 months each year,” wrote co-founder Sergei Osipov on his blog.

The company also aims to build AI clones of agents, complete with synthetic voice and video capabilities, to further automate client interactions.

Placy says it is in advanced discussions with real estate developers in the MENA region and partnering with international brands in Europe.