Billionaire businessman and investor Alex Waislitz has participated in a $6 million investment in AI proptech (property tech) startup Propic.

Propic’s two AI solutions enable real estate agents and property managers to respond and communicate with consumers through automated conversation or text 24/7.

The company received $6 million from media company Australia Community Media (ACM), in which Waislitz has a 50 per cent stake. The other half is owned by with Antony Catalano, former boss of Domain.

Catalano noted that the real estate sector was ripe for disruption.

“What is apparent to us is that AI and big data will play a material role in Real Estate, as we’re seeing in just about every other vertical,” Catalano said.

“To have world-leading solutions being developed here in Australia is fantastic to see, particularly when you look at the global application of the Propic tech platform.”

Propic CEO Jeffery Gray  said it was an honour to have the pair onboard.

“We’re obviously pretty pleased to have Alex and Antony invest in the business,” he told Stockhead.

“We just felt it was a good fit for the business locally and for our aspirations.”

 

Proptech booming since COVID-19

Gray said that the proptech space had seen a solid gains during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is an explosion in prop tech investment around the world and I think there are a number of companies that have very, very really well over the last 12 months,” he told Stockhead.

“If anything COVID accelerated our business because it forced the industry that’s historically been slow to adopt or adapt – it forced change.

And I think there’s been an awakening with incumbent real estate businesses to go,’ Look, consumer expectation is rising exponentially every year yet against an industry that’s still working in a 9-5 sort of world’.

“So I think the fact that COVID forced change in business practices, it accelerated market leaders to think how they augment technology.

“Even in our early stages we’re consistently growing triple digits year on year and that will only accelerate with the investment from Antony and Alex.”

 

ASX proptech stocks

There are only a handful of ASX stocks in the proptech space but it’s an eerily similar picture for them as well.

One of these is PropTech Group (ASX:PTG) which owns real estate agent focused CRM platforms.

The company listed last November via a reverse takeover and is currently trading at a premium of over 200 per cent to the offer price.

Another is Assetowl (ASX:AO1) which facilitates virtual real estate inspections. With physical inspections off limits for a few months last year, it saw an explosion in demand.

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