Real Estate took a few years to acknowledge the ongoing digital revolution’s implications, compared to others. These implications involved construction processes and the services for new spaces.

Today, real estate is fully aware of this, and became one of the main innovation drivers. This trend is called Proptech and is having a major impact on new buildings and their districts.

Start-ups are playing a crucial role in this transformation, due to their ability to bring together different technological fields and agility in developing projects.
CDP Venture Capital SGR launched HabiSmart - the accelerator for start-ups that develop services for the Proptech sector. This was promoted by COIMA, Ariston Group, Nova Capital and Digital Magics, the certified startup incubator that manages its programme. The initiative is part of CDP Venture Capital’s National Accelerator Network, a network that has 18 vertical accelerators throughout Italy focused on markets with the greatest growth potential.

Stefano Molino, Senior Partner - CDP Venture Capital SGR

CDP Venture Capital SGR Senior Partner Stefano Molino said: “Proptech is an interesting area of innovation for us: after years of market crisis due to the pandemic, real estate is a dynamic sector undergoing great innovation, capable of attracting large investments - including technology. It is important to note that it is designed to identify start-ups worthy of attention by our project partners. In this way, the technology developed by the startup allows us to respond to the needs of large companies, which can immediately test the proposed solutions and services in real situations.”

COIMA provides the district management technology platform implemented in the Porta Nuova district in Milan and hosts the offices of HabiSmart.  COIMA Digital Officer Francesco Portincasa, who oversaw the HabiSmart project which opened in November 2022, said: “When we presented the Porta Nuova project to the other investors, it was advantageous to have a digital platform already available in the district. With Habismart, start-ups can take advantage of our open and modular architecture to test their solutions and attempt to scale their technologies, including prototypes, in a widened context, using already existing technology.”

Stefano Molino said: “One of the project’s objectives is to test the effectiveness of the selected technologies in real-life situations, and Porta Nuova meets this need perfectly.”

Read also: Porta Nuova, the first district designed for the community

The technological platform already available at Porta Nuova “is one of the three advantages we provide to the start-ups participating in the project, along with a focus on environmental and social sustainability and brand awareness visibility provided by a project like Porta Nuova,” Portincasa said.

Francesco Portincasa, Digital Officer – COIMA

The start-ups will be housed in the COIMA headquarters, which possesses LEED & WELL certification that guarantees compliance with measurable and sustainable guidelines in the choice of materials and construction techniques, and for the well-being of the building’s users and district residents: “We decided to focus on environmental sustainability and made wise choices regarding materials. The carpet used for the flooring, for example, comes from recycling fishing nets and plastic bottles recovered from the sea. In addition, to contribute to people's well-being and health, we have installed lamps that behave like traditional lighting sources during the day, but change colour at night, turning purple and releasing an ultraviolet light that sanitises the air,” Francesco Portincasa said. “As a result, every morning our startuppers find a completely sanitised space, and a comfortable environment with a low environmental impact.”

Read also: A district that creates value

Molino said: “All shortlisted companies presented extremely promising projects, some of which were dedicated to digital technologies for energy efficiency and building sustainability which tied in with scalability and growth criteria that provide a financial return and influenced the final choice. Factors considered were market growth, team strength and the immediate application to real estate projects and generally the real estate sector.”

Since managing a district implies looking after people, in addition to Real Estate sector start-ups, circular economy companies or service providers were selected.

Portincasa said: “We act as an aggregator, matching market demand with the start-up supply, bringing together the demands of different people living in the same district. For example, with technology, a concierge who needs to run an errand can collect requests from several people living in the same area, easily finding the quickest route to handle them, optimising time and reducing the environmental impact.”

For the complete and efficient management of districts and buildings, we cannot ignore the most promising technologies in sustainable construction, involving Big Data and artificial intelligence. The combination of these enables what is known in the jargon as the Digital Twin, i.e. the digital replication of a physical asset, in our case a district. “The Digital Twin is a tool for forecasting the results that can be obtained from certain actions that we decide to undertake, and for monitoring, because it allows control of the KPIs of the area of interest, including energy efficiency, the need to improve spaces for the good of the community, measuring temperature and carbon dioxide level” added Portincasa.  “This information, combined with analytics linked to the sensors installed in an area, shows the use of spaces and whether that area is meeting people’s needs.”

Read also: Connectivity and measurable results for sustainable real estate

“We looked for companies that could respond directly or indirectly to these needs. We identified start-ups working on issues of building management, selecting those that could apply it on a larger scale such as district management. Only by maximising and making a single building management more efficient and adopting this model for the entire district can we achieve added value,” Francesco Portincasa said. “A key factor is given by the conversion of public spaces into areas which provide services to the community.”

What can we expect for the future? Stefano Molino said: “We expect that the excellent response from the first call for tenders will be repeated in the next, which will be opened in the coming months. In the meantime, there are ongoing discussions with companies and organisations to expand the list of corporate partners, which is a central element. After this, we will launch a new global call for applications, for companies and start-ups interested in developing their business in Italy. The second call focus is similar to the first, but it will be outlined according to the corporate partners’ needs, to attract interesting proposals for them and provide participants with a key business channel for their future development.”