PropTech Funding Roundup: AI-Enabled Startups Backflip and Stonal Raise Big-Money Rounds

We have spotted two big-money funding rounds this week, one worth $15 million and another worth a whopping nine figures.

Colorado-based Fintech Backflip raises $15 million

U.S.-based fintech and proptech Backflip, an all-in-one real estate and financial technology platform for real estate entrepreneurs, has raised $15 million in Series A funding in a round led by FirstMark Capital. The firm has now raised $95 million in cumulative equity and debt.

Backflip operates a platform that allows members to efficiently manage their investment pipelines, secure funding, and grow their real estate investment business. The platform grants members access to relevant real-time data to help members source, track, compare and evaluate potential investments, and secure project financing.

The firm has funded over 900 sales since its foundation in 2020, and says it is close to profitability after a strong performance in 2023 wherein the startup achieved $10 million in net revenue run rate at a revenue growth of 5x YoY.

Josh Ernst, CEO at Backflip, said:

"Over 400,000 homes are flipped every year in the U.S. and growing.

"Backflip is not just about flipping houses, it's about flipping the script on the why, how and what it means to be a real estate entrepreneur.

"Our mission is to help everyone access the funding and tools they need to participate. We put information, support, and capital products designed for entrepreneurs in the hands of more individuals in an industry that has historically had too many barriers to successfully starting and scaling. In doing so, we’re empowering our members to rejuvenate communities one modernized home at a time."

The firm released its My Leads product in August 2023, an AI-enabled property sourcing feature that acts as an analysis assistant, including detecting, comparing and then automatically alerting users to the most attractive potential investment properties available to them, including those off-market.

Ernst commented:

"Through My Leads, we have harnessed AI’s capabilities to quickly provide investors with pre-analyzed deals for them to assess and ultimately decide to purchase or not. It’s not only a tool that equips our members with a comprehensive array of data, but also enables them to navigate the competitive and volatile real estate landscape with confidence as they scale their businesses."

AI-powered asset manager Stonal raises €100M to fund European expansion

Paris and London-based real estate asset manager Stonal has raised €100 million ($107M) to further expand in Europe.

Aareon, a provider of SaaS solutions for the property industry, raised the funds.

Stonal is a data management platform for real estate owners and investors in Europe. Its collaborative AI-powered platform extracts information from documents and blueprints, creating an accurate and up-to-date database of buildings open to stakeholders such as property managers, surveyors, and insurers.

Robin Rivaton, CEO at Stonal, said:

"The real estate industry, both residential and commercial, is at a crossroads.

"AI is a massive opportunity to reshape the sector in a remarkable way, but it still requires a significant amount of data on which to train these systems. Thanks to the strategic partnership with Aareon we will reach such a scale and accelerate our European expansion."