The Road 2 Vegas
Love indeed… this past week I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas and tour the Venetian/Palazzo resort where we will be hosting this year’s AnySizeDeals Week 2020 – The Festival of Real Estate Innovation from September 8 – 11, 2020.
This is by far one of my most important professional undertakings and as such, I want to make sure everything goes as planned. The week itself goes beyond the conferences and presentations, we are planning a series of receptions, networking opportunities and activities to ensure all the participants at AnySizeDeals Week have a once in a lifetime experience.
It’s safe to say that I am very excited about the programming for the week and the agenda is coming together beautifully. We are in full speaker recruitment mode as well as finalizing various sponsorship and partnerships opportunities with leading innovators.
If you or anyone you know is interested in speaking, or sponsoring during AnySizeDeals Week 2020 please reach out at support@anysizedeals.com.
This Week in Real Estate Innovation
PROPTECH CORNER
SparkLabs Group launches Connex, an accelerator program for smart city technology | TechCrunch
SparkLabs Group announced today that it has launched SparkLabs Connex, the latest program in its network of startup accelerators and venture funds. Focused on real estate technology (proptech) and the Internet of Things, SparkLabs Connex will tap into startup ecosystems in Silicon Valley, Seoul, Shenzhen, Taipei and Singapore.
The program will support startups working with tech — like artificial intelligence, 5G, low-power wide area networks, eSIMS and security — essential to green building and smart city programs. Charles Reed Anderson, the founder of Singapore-based IoT, mobility and smart city advisory firm CRA & Associates, will lead SparkLabs Connex as its managing partner.
Jared Kushner has divested from Cadre, the real estate technology startup he co-founded, according to a person familiar with the matter, after the business attracted investment offers that could pose conflicts of interest for the White House aide.
Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law as well as one of his senior advisers, transferred his interest in Cadre to a trust that sold his shares back to the company. He recently listed his stake in federal disclosures as being worth between $25 million and $50 million, and the sale price was in that range, according to the person.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & ROBOTICS
AI – Powered Room Rental App Badi Launches in New York | Bloomberg
Badi, a European long-term room rental app that uses artificial intelligence to match roommates, launched officially in New York City on Wednesday, adding to the growing list of companies trying to disrupt the home-rental market.
Many apps such as Roomi, Spareroom, and Roomster have been trying to help people find housing in cities like New York, where co-living is becoming more common because of high rents and housing shortages. An influx of tourists and demand for short-term rentals from the likes of Airbnb have also squeezed prices and availability for residents, though officials in big cities have been seeking more regulation to address housing issues.
Delaware officials approved plans Monday to aid Amazon’s largest-ever “fulfillment center” on the site of a demolished General Motors plant west of Wilmington.
The state Council on Development Finance unanimously approved $4.5 million in taxpayer subsidies for the 5½-story warehouse over objections from a few state legislators, plus union workers and neighbors.
WHAT’S NEW IN BLOCKCHAIN?
Inside the failed crypto auction of a WeWork-leased office tower | The Real Deal
Pat O’Meara found success structuring deals for the Catholic Church, but early last year he found a new calling: Raising millions of dollars from cryptocurrency investors for real estate and infrastructure acquisitions.
O’Meara, CEO and founder of finance and tech firm Inveniam Capital Partners, targeted $260 million of property acquisitions throughout the U.S. A centerpiece of the project would be the $65 million purchase of a historic downtown Miami building fully leased to WeWork.
Startup Tokenizes $2.2B in Commercial Real Estate Through Polymath | Coindesk
Commercial real estate marketplace Red Swan has tokenized $2.2 billion in real estate through security token platform Polymath.
According to Red Swan CEO Ed Nwokedi, $780 million of that is available to investors in pre-sale, while the company has another $4 billion in real estate in its tokenization pipeline. The $2.2 billion represents 16 different Class A commercial properties based in Austin and Houston, Texas, Brooklyn, N.Y., Oakland, Calif., and Ontario, Canada.
New Malta Government Says It Still Wants to Run a ‘Blockchain Island’ | Cointelegraph
Last week, the financial watchdog of Malta came forward with an unexpected statement. Apparently, Binance, a leading cryptocurrency exchange that had been enjoying a close relationship with local authorities, is not authorized “to operate in the crypto currency sphere,” as the regulator’s press release stressed.
While the Malta Financial Services Authority has yet to license any cryptocurrency business — and not just Binance — under the country’s widely marketed cryptocurrency framework, the statement signifies a deterioration in relations between the cryptocurrency sector and Maltese officials, who have claimed to run a “blockchain island.”
OPPORTUNITY ZONES
The City of Pittsburgh and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh are now part of Smart Growth America’s new National Opportunity Zones Marketplace, intended to equip local governments, real estate developers and investors, and community leaders with the tools needed to work together to make smart, equitable development possible in Opportunity Zones-and beyond.
Hines CEO talks coronavirus, Opportunity Zones and WeWork | The Real Deal
Coronavirus and its impact on the real estate industry were top of mind at the University of Miami’s Real Estate Impact Conference.
During a session on development opportunities with Hines executives, Hines President and CEO Jeff Hines said coronavirus is a “major, major concern at this point.”
Sept 8 – 11, 2020 | AnySizeDealsWeek.com | The Venetian, Las Vegas
AnySizeDeals Week Update
Real Estate Owners/Operators
If you own or operate a real estate portfolio and are interested in staying abreast of the trends transforming the real estate industry, then AnySizeDeals Week – The Festival of Real Estate Innovation is your go to event.
Join us for an exciting 4 days at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and share insights, collaborate, network and do deals with some of the most innovative companies in the industry.
Innovators
If you are an innovator and are creating products that can help real estate owners provide better services to their tenants, attract new tenants or retain existing tenants then reach out to us.
Become a Partner of AnySizeDeals Week – The Festival of Real Estate Innovation and get the opportunity to meet the top owners and operators in the country in a collaborative format at our unique event in Las Vegas.
