Urbanmetry, an AI-driven city and property data company, announced it has closed a Pre-Series A round of US$2 million (RM8.37 million) led by Monk’s Hill Ventures. The startup said the funding will be used for developing its intelligent data products and platforms to serve end consumers in the property and mortgage markets; and for building out its product, technology, data, and business development teams. It said real estate is the largest asset class globally but like its brick-and-mortar nature, it is the hardest to fund. In developing cities, the lack of reliable data compounds the issue, making mortgage underwriting particularly complex, risky, and as a by-product, expensive.
Urbanmetry claimed to have over 150 corporate clients in the region including UEM Sunrise, Kuok Group Berhad, RHB Bank, Hong Leong Bank, and the World Bank. The company said has seen sustained growth over the pandemic and is profitable. In addition to providing data and insight to institutional clients, Urbanmetry also offers products for the homeowner. The company claimed to assist homebuyers in making their mortgage commitment, Urbanmetry has launched Nowcast, an AI-driven service that helps homebuyers forecast the value of their homes based on machine learning from 90 city data variables.