Dive Brief:
- New York City real estate scion Daniel Tishman has found his place among real estate tech startups as chairman of California-based Ecorithm, a software company that focuses on building energy efficiency for property owners, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- Ecorithm software, according to The Journal, helps heating, electricity, ventilation and other operating systems in buildings run more efficiently. Landlords are increasingly using the system, which is based on jet engine technology, to cut costs, improve quality of life for tenants, and create an improved experience for retail customers.
- Ecorithm is one of several building system technology companies in a competitive market, and Tishman said the company’s challenges are now "in the rearview mirror" due to a new leadership team and the company’s change of focus to buildings that can accommodate its technology.
Dive Insight:
Tishman’s family members have been significant figures in the real estate and construction industries for more than 100 years. Tishman’s father helped invent one of the first motion detectors for regulating lighting in office buildings, and the Tishman family was an investor in a company that invented a new technique for manufacturing drywall.
Startups have been seeing major investor interest recently in both the construction and real estate spheres. Last week, technology startup Uptake reached a $1.1 billion valuation after raising $45 million from investors, including heavy equipment giant Caterpillar. On the same day as Uptake's funding announcement, Fieldwire, a San Francisco-based startup offering mobile and web platform services for construction projects, announced it had secured $6.6 million in series A financing.
The major investor interest in these construction and real estate startups reflects the industries' desire to evolve and stay on top of emerging technologies.
