Active Design Advisors Lands $3.5M Strategic Capital Investment From RET Ventures, Kilroy Realty
Active Design Advisors Inc. (Adai) has secured a strategic capital investment led by real estate technology fund RET Ventures with additional investment from Kilroy Realty, Commercial Observer can first report.
RET’s investment comes from its RET Ventures ESG Fund called Housing Impact Fund, which was raised primarily from multifamily owners.
Adai — the sole operator of healthy building certification system Fitwel — will use the funding round for the implementation of evidenced-based, healthy building strategies to improve both health outcomes and real estate bottom lines across the global real estate sector. “Additionally,” according to a release, “Adai plans to enhance its tech platform for ease of use and increase its ability to generate benchmark data to underpin operational value creation.”
“We created a new entity really specifically so that we could go out and raise investment dollars,” Joanna Frank, president and CEO of Adai, said. “We are seeing a really rapid increase in demand from the real estate industry for standards and for certification and for data around and how to prioritize the people-perspective of real estate and realize the full potential value of having a health-promoting environment.”
Fitwel certification exploded in the last few years with a 325 percent uptick in 2021 and a 288 percent increase in the amount of square footage certified; plus, major firms such as Boston Properties (BXP), Nike, Gensler, Meta and Oracle have all utilized Fitwel.
“On behalf of our Housing Impact Fund we are committed to pursuing technologies that enhance building health and sustainability, and Fitwel’s ability to improve the resident and tenant experience in commercial and multifamily properties makes this an ideal investment for us,” said Christopher Yip, partner at RET Ventures, in a release. “As a certification system developed with the CDC, the Fitwel platform has the rigorous scientific backing to deliver true value to building owners, whose tenants are increasingly prioritizing health as an amenity.”
“As a demonstrated leader in sustainable commercial real estate, we will continue to bring an ambitious approach to health and wellness in building design and operation,” said Sarah King, senior vice president of sustainability at Kilroy Realty. “We expect this to become a staple for best-in-class commercial buildings. Kilroy is proud to support Adai as they work towards scaling up the use and recognition of the Fitwel platform.”
Update: This story originally misattributed source material. This has been corrected. We apologize for the error.
Emily Fu can be reached at efu@commercialobserver.com.
