A report by the Sustainable PropTech Canada shows that almost $1.5 billion USD has been invested in the country’s sustainable proptech startups over the last 17 years.
Canada is currently home to 68 sustainable proptech firms, with Ontario claiming over half of that total.
The group called the report a first of its kind attempting to map out companies that sit at the intersection of sustainability and property technology.
“We believe that Canada is well positioned to be a leader in sustainable Proptech,” Sustainable PropTech Canada told BetaKit. “Canada has always punched above its weight in real estate, with some of the largest real estate companies in the world being based here. In addition, there is a highly educated population with a strong focus on technology, as well as a relatively clean grid.”
Using a combination of private databases and public sources, such as Pitchbook and Crunchbase, Sustainable PropTech worked with investment group Venturon to collect information on Canadian proptech companies in the sustainable space, gathering data such as age, locations, and funding history.
Sustainable PropTech was co-founded by Deena Pantalone, principal at Venturon; as well as Joanna Creed, Venturon’s director of operations and general counsel. Venturon is a Canadian investment group that both invests in and consults with startups in the real estate tech space. Its investments include GoBolt and ThoughtWire.
“We wanted to create a group with a cross section of people from the industry, including asset owners, developers, consultants, technologists, urbanists, general contractors, to collaborate and share ideas to help us all move to a low carbon built environment,” said Creed. “The group is in its infancy and is building its membership.”
Mapping out the startups that operate in the sustainable proptech space, the report’s data tracks funding raised by the companies between 2005 to March 2022. The report found that Ontario-based sustainable proptech companies have raised the most amount of funding among their counterparts from all Canadian provinces.
According to Sustainable PropTech, Canada is currently home to 68 sustainable proptech firms, with Ontario claiming over half of that total (53 percent). This is in line with Proptech Collective’s report from last year, noting that nearly half of all Canadian proptech companies are based in the Greater Toronto Area.
Having accumulated over $1 billion in total funding across the 36 sustainable proptech companies in the province, Ontario has seen the most activity by far in the sector.
Some of the firms that are headquartered in Ontario include Mississauga solar energy company Amp Energy, which the report noted as having secured the most amount of funding in the sustainable proptech space in Canada with $374 million USD; as well as Toronto-based tech-enabled logistics and fulfillment startup GoBolt (formerly Bolt Logistics), which has raised over $115 million CAD.
After its second rebrand in May, GoBolt acquired e-commerce logistics provider BoxKnight as it looks to tackle the United States market.
RELATED: GoBolt buys same-day delivery startup BoxKnight to accelerate move into small parcel space
Other Ontario companies in the sustainable proptech sub sector include green energy supplier Hydrostor, energy tech firm Encycle, as well as smart home automation company Ecobee, which was acquired by Generac for up to $770 million USD.
Following Ontario in terms of funding raised is Alberta, securing $152.25 million. The report identified six Alberta companies in the sustainable proptech space, citing the likes of Calgary construction companies Dirtt and Falkbuilt.
Falkbuilt has raised $48 million USD in total funding, as per the report, which includes a $14 million CAD Series A round in 2020. Dirtt, on the other hand, has secured $100 million to date.
With 11 companies, British Columbia’s sustainable proptech segment has received $134.2 million in total investments, according to the report. Among the growth-stage players in the province is Vancouver-based Nexii, which achieved unicorn status in September last year with a post-money valuation of $1.55 billion. Nexii secured $45 million in July, bringing its valuation to $2.05 billion.
There are currently nine sustainable proptech companies in Québec, as reported by Sustainable PropTech Canada, and they have collectively secured $123.27 million.
Montréal solar energy firm Dcbel has raised $47 million USD in total funding, which includes a $7.5 million USD non-dilutive loan from Silicon Valley Bank, as well as a $40 million investment round that closed in 2020.
Also based in Montréal, HVAC tech company BrainBox AI was cited in the report as one of the companies in its growth stage. BrainBox announced the close of its Series A financing round in July, raising a cumulative $30 million USD.
RELATED: BrainBox AI’s Series A round reaches $30 million following EDC top-up
Sustainable proptech appears to have the lowest activity in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland as the report showed these provinces have the least amount of companies and investments in the space.
Notably, the report claimed that Newfoundland is home to only one sustainable proptech company, St. John’s-based Mysa, but is also the province to have raised the most amount of funding among Atlantic Canada as Mysa has secured a total of $29.9 million USD in its lifetime.
Nova Scotia’s sustainable proptech segment has secured about $12.4 million USD in total funding across two companies that operate in the space: Ecopilot Canada and CarbonCure Technologies, which took home $7.5 million USD in prize money last year after winning the grand prize at the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition.
Sustainable PropTech Canada identified three companies in New Brunswick, which includes Fredericton-based energy management platform provider SimpTek.
As for the venture capital side, Sustainable PropTech Canada highlighted the likes of Inovia Capital, Yaletown, Real Ventures, OMERS Ventures, and Panache Ventures as the top Canadian generalist investment firms that finance Canada’s proptech sector.
The report identified the top Canadian proptech specialist investors as Groundbreak Ventures, Greensoil Proptech Ventures, and Alate Partners.
Featured image from Anders J via Unsplash.
