Here Are The Six Startups That Made It To Gruhas ASPIRE’s Second Proptech Cohort

Proptech accelerator Gruhas ASPIRE (Accelerating Sustainable Proptech in Real Estate) has selected six startups as part of its second annual cohort.

Encompassing the length and breadth of the construction and real estate industry, the second edition of the accelerator covers a wide range of areas such as emissions-free construction materials and technologies, smart property management, waste management, as well as platforms offering investments and financing in the real estate sector. 

The selected startups in Gruhas ASPIRE’s second cohort include eco-friendly cooling solutions provider Ambiator, enterprise sustainability platform Breathe ESG, water tap attachments manufacturer EarthFokus, property management startup Openhaus, real estate investment platform Slice and smart toilet brand Zerotouch.

Gruhas ASPIRE is a partnership between Gruhas Proptech Fund, DLF Family Office, and Anthill Ventures. 

“… Gruhas understands that after agritech, proptech as an ecosystem needs more disruption and exposure. With this thought, we look forward to supporting the incoming cohort of Gruhas ASPIRE as they navigate the Proptech ecosystem and scale to new heights,” said cofounder of Gruhas Fund Abhijeet Pai.

Chiming in, partner at Anthill Ventures Sailesh Sigatapu added, “… Our goal is to empower them to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and scale their innovations, ultimately contributing to their success and the transformation of the proptech landscape.”

The startups were selected after a screening process spanning months and were shortlisted from a pool of more than 150 applicants. 

Under the initiative, the accelerator will offer the shortlisted startups mentorship and guidance. It will offer support in areas such as business model, product-market fit and growth, pricing, sales, branding and marketing, as well as legal compliance.

The onboarded companies will also be eligible to receive strategic investments as part of the six-month programme. The accelerator will also facilitate market access opportunities for startups through strategic collaboration with homegrown property developers and managers. 

At the end of the six-month period, the startups will participate in the Demo Day where each shortlisted will be allowed to pitch before sector-specific investors and raise capital. 

This is the second cohort of the accelerator program which was launched last year. While seven startups were shortlisted for the initiative, six companies completed the six-month-long course. Of this, four startups raised funding while two others are said to be in the process of closing their respective funding rounds.

Among the names that participated in the first edition were Modcave, which manufactures prefabricated temporary shelters, sustainability-focussed fintech platform SusteVest, and data-driven co-living platform Settl, among others. 

As per Gruhas ASPIRE, the first edition of the initiative facilitated more than INR 22 Cr in capital through both external as well as partner investors. “The second edition is poised to further build on these achievements and significantly contribute to revitalizing and growing the real estate sector through innovation and sustainability,” said the accelerator in a statement.

As for this year, here’s the list of six startups that are part of Gruhas ASPIRE’s 2023 cohort.

Ambiator

• Founded In: 2022
• Founders: Tiger Aster, Jeeten Desai
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

Ambiator is a climate tech startup that offers eco-friendly alternative cooling solutions. It currently offers an air conditioning system under the name Ambiator TR 5 which deploys a patented ‘solar viable cooling’ technology to provide affordable cooling in dry climate zones.

Founded in 2022 by Tiger Aster and Jeeten Desai, the company is largely targeting B2B use cases in industrial and commercial applications.

Breathe ESG

• Founded In: 2022
• Founders: Karantaj Singh, Shaayak Chatterjee, Saurav Fouzdar
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

A brainchild of Karantaj Singh, Shaayak Chatterjee and Saurav Fouzdar, Breathe ESG was founded in 2022 and is an enterprise sustainability platform. The full-stack software offers data management, monitoring, and ESG reporting capabilities. 

It claims to offer 6X faster ESG reporting and access to all reporting frameworks to streamline sustainability goals and compliance requirements of enterprises. 

EarthFokus

• Founded In: 2017
• Founders: Arun Subramanian, Rishi Vandhan
• Headquarters: Chennai

The IIT-Madras incubated startup manufactures water-saving nozzles for taps and other bathroom fixtures such as showers and faucets. Made with EcoBrass alloy, EarthFokus’ aerators claim to be significantly durable as well as corrosion and pressure-resistant.

As per the startup, these DIY-tap nozzles claim to reduce up to 95-98% of water wastage per wash. Founded by Arun Subramanian and Rishi Vandhan in 2017, EarthFokus recently raised INR 1.52 Cr in funding from The Chennai Angels in March this year.

Openhaus

• Founded In: 2020
• Founders: Vedanshu Kedia, Kush Bhayani, Prathit Kedia
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded in 2020 by Vedanshu Kedia, Prathit Kedia and Kush Bhayani, Openhaus is a gamified and interactive digital storefront that accelerates sales for builders and property brokers. 

Built around the premise of a shareable digital property card, Openhaus allows brokers and ‘hosts’ to access and pitch listed properties to prospective buyers. It also offers an interactive real estate sales visualisation tool for builders to directly access and update real-time information about their properties. 

Slice 

• Founded In: 2021
• Founders: Amandeep Singh, Keith Fenner
• Headquarters: Dubai, UAE

A brainchild of Amandeep Singh and Keith Fenner, Slice operates a digital investment platform for users to invest in real estate assets. Available for customers in more than 188 countries, the platform allows customers to invest as little as $100 Mn across residential, commercial and retail properties across the globe. 

Zerotouch

• Founded In: 2019
• Founders: Venkat Keetha, Nikita Pokala, NV Venkatesh
• Headquarters: Hyderabad

The T-Hub incubated startup claims to be the country’s first smart toilet brand, selling smart bidet seats and toilets. The touchless toilets can be operated through a mobile app and, as per the company, consume 45% less water for flushing. 

Targeted largely at the niche affluent segment, Zerotouch products are priced north of INR 16,000 and go up to nearly INR 36,000.  The startup was founded in 2019 by Venkat Keetha, Nikita Pokala, NV Venkatesh and claims to have a presence in more than 10 cities nationwide.