AskPorter, an artificial intelligence-powered property management platform, has raised more than £500,000 from investors, including the proptech venture capital firm Pi Labs.
The London-based start-up, which was co-founded in 2016 by Tom Shrive and Sam Tassell, is a multi-channel communications platform with an AI digital assistant that serves as a personal assistant for property managers and a property concierge for customers and tenants.
The digital assistant “porter” pro-actively carries out planned duties, guides customers through enquiries and reporting issues, and delivers concierge services, reverting to a human manager or approved service provider only when necessary.
The company claims that by using the platform, property managers can provide greater transparency, reduce costs by up to 50% and transition into a more concierge-like, value-added role for customers.
Partners secured
AskPorter has partnered with Adiuvo, the provider of out-of-hours services for 350,000 properties across the UK, and others such as newly launched POD Management, which intends to leverage the AskPorter platform to transform the sector.
The new funding and partnerships will be used to continue developing and improving the platform and AI assistant as it rolls out to more properties across the UK.
The platform is currently being introduced to enterprise clients who own or manage residential, PRS, block and commercial properties. In addition to Pi Labs, investors include the former executive director of LSL Property Services, David Newnes. Angel investors James Caan and Faisal Butt have also made personal investments in the business.
Butt, who is the founder and chairman of Pi Labs, said: “AskPorter has cleverly recognised that the property management industry is better positioned than most to take advantage of the developments in communication and AI. Weaving AI into property management is an opportunity to transform the customer experience in this industry.”
Product of Cohort 4 and Geovation
AskPorter is a product of Cohort 4 of the Pi Labs pre-seed programme, which finished last year, and subsequently, the Land Registry-backed Geovation programme.
Tom Shrive, chief executive of AskPorter, said: “Our mission is to leverage AI to help property owners and managers build better relationships with their customers by streamlining costly processes while delivering a compelling tenant experience. This investment will enable us to roll-out our property management platform nationally, and begin to redefine service levels within the property management sector.”
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