Istanbul Proptech Scene January 2021
Time really does fly. It’s been four years since the “EurAsia Proptech Initiative” was founded. To date, we have released four versions of “Istanbul Proptech Maps” the last one of which was at the beginning of this year on RE: Connect, the largest global proptech, real estate, and innovation festival. The first version had more than 80 start-ups while we gladly enjoyed reaching 145+ in this version. As in every market, it is necessary to approach the issue not only in quantity but also in terms of quality. Surely there are ones that have been closed, but the number that has been replaced is higher and the total number is increasing. At the same time, some companies are growing rapidly at home and expanding abroad.
If we examine the map in detail below is the distribution by category;
- Logistics: 19
- Data and Analytics: 7
- Retail: 14
- Process: 7
- Office: 9
- Agents and Brokers: 6
- Other: 14
- Seeing / Hearing / Feeling: 20
- Mobility: 17
- Marketplaces: 5
- Construction Technologies: 11
- Cloud Market & Kitchens: 6
- Geo-Location: 7
- Tenant Applications: 4
So what are the striking developments on the map in this version?
- With the pandemic, perhaps the only real estate asset class that increases its value, logistics is experiencing an explosion in the last mile distribution companies in parallel with the global trends. The change and competition that started as same day delivery 3 years ago has now standardized the 2–3 hour delivery option and an advanced technological infrastructure (such as connecting with API, instant tracking, etc.) for newcomers.
- Likewise, the increase in smart locker rooms/cabinets -for delivery- with different business models continues.
- It is very pleasing that two local initiatives are developing autonomous and/or semi-autonomous robots. (By the way, it was reported last week that Starship from Estonia made its 1 millionth distribution.)
- Online property management has become a very fast-growing area as expected. It’s even late :)
- It is remarkable that an initiative has emerged that turns the pandemic into an opportunity, reads the changing consumer habits correctly, and provides specifically designed working desks/corners.
- Operators are working hard to meet the growing demands for “flex office” contracts.
- Electronic and biometric signature applications keep growing.
- With the digitization of real estate, the access and identity management security solution initiative used in both physical and virtual environments continues to grow rapidly in global markets.
- Initiatives that collect, process, prevent, and/or solve data with different methods were the most crowded vertical in the previous maps. What we see here is that while the number of newcomers is decreasing, the existing enterprises are deepening.
- In the mobility vertical, shared bicycle and electric scooter companies started to increase, almost as if competing with the last mile distribution companies. On the contrary, startups that produce products for all these companies have also started to emerge.
- One of the areas that make us happy is that the construction technologies category we opened in the previous version is getting more and more crowded. It is remarkable that the initiatives that developed a SaaS-based product in the BIM field and produced a robotic building exterior cleaning vehicle entered the map for the first time. Expect more startups especially for building materials.
- Cloud market and cloud kitchens are familiar topics for those who attend the “EurAsia Proptech Initiative” meetups 4 years ago. Back then we have predicted that TR could play a leading role, especially in cloud markets. It is gratifying to see the players operating today slowly making this a reality.
After publishing the map, we have already identified eight new companies, we will add them in the next version. Please share if you’re a startup or know a company that you think to be on this map.
Note: We lost the lovely-hearted Can Dörtkardeşler, the founder of Udentify, whom we met when he was planning to start his entrepreneurship journey. We would like to take this chance to remember him once again with mercy. RIP Can!
This article was previously published in https://www.proptecheurasia.com//news/istanbul-proptech-scene-january-2021
