Engrain Raises $12 Million Series A Funding
Despite macroeconomic headwinds and SVB collapse, the property mapping and data visualization software startup closes round led by RET Ventures
By Philip Russo March 16, 2023 9:00 am
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Despite macroeconomic headwinds, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVBQ) (SVB), Engrain, an interactive property mapping technology and data visualization software startup, has found its way to closing a $12 million Series A round, the company announced Thursday. RET Ventures led the round.
Engrain decided to move ahead with the closing of its Series A round after the collapse of SVB, in which the proptech startup had “only a few million dollars” in deposits at the time of the bank’s failure last week, said Brent Steiner, co-founder and CEO at the Denver-based company.
Engrain did not suffer financial damage from SVB’s collapse, said Steiner. “But I know many CEOs who have been affected, like not knowing what they were going to do coming into this middle-of-the-month payroll week.”
Having successfully closed the Series A round, Engrain plans to use the new funding to improve the company’s suite of technology offerings, said Steiner.
“Our last significant round was in 2020, which we deployed to stand up different parts of the organization and to help us grow quickly year over year,” he said. “Now, we have enough traction that we’re ready to pivot to optimizing our operations because we have a clear path to profitability.
“So we had decided it was time to move ahead with a Series A. Originally, we had planned for something a bit bigger, but we decided that given the current macro climate, even before this last week, we wanted to be as careful as possible. We took what we thought was just the right amount, and we’re going to deploy it towards shoring up operations for scale. None of it is going towards top-line growth. It’s all going towards foundational optimization.”
Steiner said Engrain has a “very lean product team” that they plan to build out further, but will also grow the company’s marketing capabilities.
“At this point, specifically with our SightMap products, we believe we can move towards automating the scale of that through automation campaigns linked to not only our own product, but the wider ecosystem with a lot of our partners who are using our maps in their applications,” he said.
Engrain’s focus is developing technology to modernize the leasing process, specifically in the multifamily sector, Steiner explained.
“We have an interactive mapping platform that is used for finding and leasing apartments,” he said. “And then it’s also used for operations, revenue management, and any application where a map of the property would be helpful in decision-making.”
The company has moved into self-storage and retail, too, he said. “Ultimately, we have developed something that can be used across the ecosystem. So our technology is not just confined to our own products, but it’s available through APIs [application programming interfaces] to any proptech company that needs to efficiently create and visualize data in a property map.”
The ongoing upgrades were a big draw for RET Ventures, said Christopher Yip, a partner at RET.
“Owners and operators in the multifamily space are on a never-ending hunt to improve operational efficiencies while bettering the resident and leasing experience, and Engrain’s technology continues to deliver on both fronts,” Yip said in a statement. “The spatial perspective on a property that Engrain provides simplifies property engagement for residents, leasing and asset management teams and vendors alike, and we’re proud to double down on our investment and lead the Series A for this robust technology solution.”
Engrain’s product lines include TouchTour, Asset Intelligence and its flagship product, SightMap, an interactive property map that embeds into property websites.
To date, Engrain’s tech suite serves 8,000 multifamily and 3,000 self-storage properties, comprising more than 5 million units, including 75 percent of the country’s 50 largest apartment owners, according to the company.
Philip Russo can be reached at prusso@commercialobserver.com.
