Protech business The Urban Collective is embarking on a six-figure crowdfund to develop its artificial intelligence-led offering. The company’s founder, tech entrepreneur Mayank Mathur, is looking to raise £250k through crowdfunding platform Seedrs to help people simplify the process of finding and moving into a rented property. Mayank set up The Urban Collective launched last year with his wife, Valerie Vigouroux. The company offers a lifestyle-focussed search app called UrbanCo that aims to make the process of finding a suitable home four times faster, reducing the time it takes from 40 or more hours to 10. The Urban Collective also launched Sherpa, a tenant concierge service catering for busy professionals seeking more bespoke support when they move. Users are appointed a dedicated, handpicked local expert or ‘Sherpa’ who takes the heavy lifting out of finding and securing a property. The Urban Collective wants to use funds raised to introduce an AI ‘automated Sherpa’ that could further streamline the process. The Sherpa service will initially be available in London before being rolled out to other UK cities. Mayan Mathur said: “I’m excited to be part of a rapidly emerging sector that is revolutionising the property industry. More than $3bn was invested in proptech last year – a 36% increase in investment in the sector year on year. “We are pleased to have already made the rental search experience easier for hundreds of tenants – this funding round will enhance our offering and prepare The Urban Collective to enter new markets.” He added: “It’s not just London that has a housing crisis, this is a global issue. We have built the technology ready for scale and over time it will grow into a multinational solution for renters.” Access free online guidance for North East businesses in the Growth Hub North East's COVID-19 toolkit →
Proptech start-up The Urban Collective aims to capitalise on the appetite for investment in the sector by crowdfunding £250,000 ($355,000) to develop an artificial intelligence Sherpa system that will complement its tenant concierge service of the same name. The Urban Collective, launched last year, claims its UrbanCo app, can reduce the process of finding a rental home to 40 or more hours. More than $3bn was invested in proptech in 2017, a 36% year-on-year increase, according to CEO Mayank Mathur.