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A Melbourne-based urban analytics platform that gathers behavioural data to help property developers better understand how people utilise neighbourhoods has closed a $1.3 million pre-Series A funding round led by Californian VC ALIAVIA Ventures.
Neighbourlytics' capital raise also saw participation from LaunchVic’s Alice Anderson Fund, and follows support received from existing investors Trawalla Group, Myer Foundation, Scale Investors and Portable.
The fresh funds will be used to enhance the platform’s automation processes and advanced analytics system, in addition to hiring new staff for product development, sales and marketing.
Founded in 2018 by Jessica Christiansen-Franks and Lucinda Hartley, Neighbourlytics offers social and behavioural insights plus benchmarking data so that developers can deliver a better return on investments and capital projects.
To date, Neighbourlytics insights - which have accelerated project research for its clients tenfold - are being used by 100-plus property developers across 12 countries.
“Over the past four years our analytics have been leveraged to inform over $4.86 billion in asset management decisions. This shows a growing maturity of the industry to prioritise leaving a legacy of great people places, not just buildings,” Hartley said.
“This capital raise is a launchpad as we lay the foundations for global expansion. It’s recognition of the maturing of Neighbourlytics as a business and the evolution of the real estate industry as a whole.
“We’re excited to partner with a team of extraordinary investors as we continue to help our clients make better decisions that improve return on investment and community outcomes.”
Unlike standard real estate data - which uses metrics such as physical distances, square metres and capacity - Neighbourlytics taps into the digital footprints people leave behind via aggregated and anonymised mobile phone location data, public social media, ratings and reviews, and crowd-sourced map data.
The platform has been leveraged for large-scale infrastructure projects like the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will see seven of its eight stadiums used for future big events, club teams and university athletics in Qatar.
Closer to home, Neighbourlytics technology has been used by developers like Lendlease (ASX: LLC), Stockland (ASX: SGP) and Urbis, as well as the City of Sydney and the Victorian state government.
Approximately 80 per cent of Tier 1 property developers, which are industry leaders that typically have a global presence and turnover of at least $500 million, are using the platform across Australia.
“Life has changed a lot in the last couple of years and, as a result, there’s currently demand for lifestyle and behavioural data like never before,” Christiansen-Franks said.
“It’s no longer valid to look back at five-year-old census data, or rely on gut feeling, to understand what people want in an office building or shopping mall or how they look after their health and wellbeing.
“Behavioural big data is the missing piece of the intelligence puzzle for our customers.”
Neighbourlytics currently has 22 staff in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
“We are super excited to lead the investment in Neighbourlytics to help accelerate global growth,” ALIAVIA Ventures co-founder and general partner Marisa Warren said.
“We believe Neighbourlytics offers a new paradigm for the real estate and asset management industry by taking a real-time data-driven approach to property development and sustainability.”
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