Michael Rudin
Co-CEO at Rudin and leader of Rudin Ventures
Rudin credits itself with a major milestone in the proptech industry: delivering the “grandfather of all smart buildings” at 55 Broad Street in Manhattan’s Financial District. In 1996, the family-owned real estate company transformed 55 Broad into the world’s first fully wired office building.
Since then, Rudin has applied the wiring to the rest of its New York City commercial portfolio, including the Thomson Reuters Building at 3 Times Square and the Telecom, Media & Technology Center at 32 Avenue of the Americas.
In 2015, the firm also launched Rudin Ventures, which has a portfolio of four fund investments and 13 direct investments into early-stage technology companies and venture funds. Led by Michael Rudin, the venture platform focuses on investing in companies whose technology can be used in Rudin’s 14.7 million-square-foot real estate portfolio.
“This year, we prioritized investments in our existing venture capital portfolio while also implementing solutions that help facilitate Rudin’s technology initiatives and goals,” Michael Rudin said.
On the commercial side, Rudin said the firm partnered this year with software company SwiftConnect for access control to its buildings and AI-based tool Prophia for “lease abstraction.” In addition, the company implemented the technology of Cove, a proptech company that provides a single software platform for property operations and visitor management.
At its residential properties, Rudin also started using EliseAI, a tool that manages maintenance requests and automates leasing and communication functions.
“We are constantly studying, analyzing and evaluating solutions, including utilizing AI, that we can integrate throughout our 32 properties, as well as exploring new partnerships and innovations to enhance the Rudin customers’ experiences,” Michael Rudin said.
Meanwhile, Rudin’s main management company has been busy with some conversion projects in Manhattan.
The family sold 55 Broad to Silverstein Properties and MetroLoft Management in August 2023 to convert the office building into 571 apartment units. Rudin will retain an equity stake in the adaptive reuse project and is committed to maximizing sustainability at the property.
