JLL Spark announces more than $340M in investments across portfolio to date, marking fourth anniversary

SAN FRANCISCO, Jun. 29, 2022 – JLL Spark Global Ventures, the corporate venture arm of JLL, is marking the fourth anniversary of the launch of its global fund by announcing that it has invested over $340 million across 40+ proptech startups since June 2018.

Led by experienced Silicon Valley investors and entrepreneurs with successful track records building and investing in tech companies, JLL Spark focuses on leveraging technology to improve everything from real estate development and management to leasing and investing, while enhancing the experience of those who occupy commercial spaces. Its strategic proptech investments offer JLL the ability to provide innovative products to real estate owners and operators.

“Our goal is to bring the best of the startup ecosystem to JLL and its clients, globally,” said Mihir Shah, co-CEO, JLL Technologies, the parent division of JLL Spark. “JLL Spark is unique in the industry, combining a world-class venture capability and unrivaled expertise in the commercial real estate sector with an ability to provide a path to revenue to the teams we invest in.”

An investment from JLL Spark offers access to JLL’s extensive CRE client roster, including its global distribution and scale. More than 60 percent of JLL’s investor and occupier clients use a JLL Spark portfolio company solution.

Portfolio companies also work with JLL Spark growth teams who serve as liaisons between JLL's external investments centered around innovation, technology, and all internal JLL business lines. These experienced technologists and real estate leaders assist with creating opportunities by providing growth strategies and guidance.

“JLL Spark identifies concepts that we believe will be successful and deliver significant value,” said Raj Singh, managing partner, JLL Spark. “We’re growing new ideas by providing both funding and JLL’s deep commercial real estate industry expertise to transform the real estate industry through technology-based innovation.”

JLL Spark’s portfolio consists of global technology startups that support investor and occupier clients with innovative solutions in construction tech, ESG, fintech, smart buildings, and the future of work.

One such example is VergeSense, in which JLL Spark invested during multiple rounds including their Series C in March 2021. VergeSense’s platform provides contextualized insights about how spaces are really used by leveraging an optical sensor network combined with artificial intelligence. These insights empower companies to continuously optimize their workplaces, delivering exceptional employee experiences while achieving cost reduction and sustainability goals. In partnership with JLLT, VergeSense successfully expanded its strategic integrations with other real estate technologies.

“The JLL Spark growth team has been a great asset to our company,” said Dan Ryan, co-founder and CEO of spatial intelligence platform VergeSense. “In fact, I can directly attribute over 20 million square feet of enterprise workplace sales driven by JLL Spark.”

Another example is Safehub, which partnered with JLL Spark in April 2021. Safehub employs a combination of proprietary sensors, analytics and third-party data to provide real-time, building-specific structural damage information. This information is used to estimate earthquake damage to individual buildings and portfolios, gauge related business interruption losses and inform customers in real-time from any location. Safehub was able to leverage JLL networks, specifically an introduction to LaSalle’s Asia Pacific market, to initiate growth into a new region.

"JLL Spark is a trusted partner for Safehub, delivering both strategic insights on our business as well as business development opportunities through JLL, LaSalle and their clients,” said Andy Thompson, CEO & co-founder of Safehub. “The partnership accelerated our global growth into Latin America and Asia."

JLL Spark's recent investments include Aunt Flow, Veev, SwiftConnect, Ecoworks, and Re-leased.

To learn more about JLL Spark and its innovative portfolio companies, please visit www.jllspark.com.