Real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield announced it formed a strategic partnership with proptech venture capital firm Fifth Wall. The firm, which generates collaboration between innovative technologies for the built world and incumbents from numerous sectors of the real estate industry, saw its second real estate venture capital fund recently close at $503 million. That figure more than doubled its initial fund, which closed in May 2017 at $212 million.
“We’re committed to identifying and partnering with organizations that can help us develop the next generation of technology solutions for our clients, our colleagues and the built environment,” Brett White, Executive Chairman & CEO, Cushman & Wakefield said in a statement. “We believe we’ve found a great partner and advisor in Fifth Wall, and together, we can help put Cushman & Wakefield’s clients at the center of some of the most innovative technology solutions in our industry.”
“Fifth Wall sees powerful network effects in our unique fund model as it becomes a centralized platform for the world’s largest real estate companies to share insights and access new technologies to enhance their businesses,” Brendan Wallace, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Fifth Wall said in a release. “Working with innovative, forward-looking real estate companies like Cushman & Wakefield gives Fifth Wall the unique lens to evaluate new and disruptive technologies in our industry and to de-risk our investments through the strategic partnerships we structure with them.”
Cushman & Wakefield’s current proptech strategy focuses on strategic partnerships across its global platform with various organizations such as MetaProp NYC, Plug and Play and 1871. The company also recently began technology relationships with businesses like Saltmine and Reonomy.
“Our proptech partnerships make us more efficient, ensuring our firm evolves as quickly as the technologies that are disrupting our industry,” said Adam Stanley, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer at Cushman & Wakefield. “That means we can use our partners’ technology to continue delivering the best value to our clients and other stakeholders. Fifth Wall adds a powerful and impactful partner to support our strategy and advance the industry.”
