Proptech VC firm from London, A/O has completed the first close of its €250 million fund to invest in technologies transforming the built world. This new flagship fund is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building climate resiliency, and accelerating the energy transition and digitalisation of the real estate and construction industries.
Investment plans
A/O’s Fund 2 plans to invest in Seed to Series B startups across Europe, UK, and North America. The new fund will allow for more capital to enable the transition of the real estate industry, the world’s largest and most polluting industry according to many recent reports.
The first investment from Fund II has already been announced with Enter’s €19.4 million Series A, a company A/O has backed since its seed round a few months earlier. A/O’s second investment is into a company currently in stealth mode, developing a digital-first solution and software platform to solving the skilled labour shortages currently holding back the retrofitting industry
In addition to this, A/O plans to increase its team of 13 members. With Fund II, the firm plans to hire more investors and its first head of sustainability who will help execute the firm’s proprietary “impactful change” framework and help accelerate sustainability goals across its stakeholders.
Gregory Dewerpe, founder and CIO of A/O, said: “We believe the transition of the built world is the most tangible way to tackle climate change today and with this new fund we will continue to dedicate our time, resources, and attention to it. The more challenging market conditions of the last 18 months have been a great reminder for many that being a specialist firm with deep expertise, backing technology that matters, and aiming to solve mission-critical problems is a good place to be in.”
What challenges does it tackle?
Reportedly, real estate is the world’s largest, one of the least digitised and the most polluting industry globally responsible for an estimated 40% of global CO2 emissions. If left unchecked, these emissions are projected to double by 2050 as our economies continue to build more to accommodate growing populations and rapid global urbanisation. An unprecedented climate and energy crisis marred by extreme weather and catastrophic natural disasters has contributed to accelerate the need to drive the digital and sustainable transformation of the sector.
Founded in 2019 by Gregory Dewerpe in London, A/O is committed to investing in technologies that enable the ‘positive transformation’ of the built world, a concept that drives the firms strategy throughout.
The firm’s investment landscape spans the entire lifecycle of the built world. From supply chain, new materials, and AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction), to building operations and management, targeting decarbonisation, climate resiliency, electrification, and energy transition, as well as digitisation, automation, and big data management through a mix of software, hardware, deeptech, and AI.
Investment portfolio
Via its Fund 1, A/O has invested in 22 companies throughout the lifecycle of the built world Some of its climate-related verticals include SPAN, Californian housing electrification; Satellite Vu, a UK-based Earth observation firm; PassiveLogic, a US-based next-gen BMS leveraging AI to operate buildings more efficiently; 011H, a Spanish sustainable mass timber prefab developer; and Plentific, a UK-based property management software platform, and trades marketplace.
