Proptech startups grew 200% since 2016

As proptech gathers momentum, it will gain increasing acceptance – certainly, the decades-long state of inertia has been broken. As Indian real estate gears up to become a $1-trillion industry by 2030, the prospects for this exciting offshoot of the technological revolution are more than promising, says a report by Anarock Group.

According to it, the number of proptech startups increased to over 1,400 in 2022 from just two in 2016. Today, they account for 6 per cent of the total recognised startups in the country. While the housing sector accounts for 84 per cent of the total under-construction real estate in the country, just 700-800 companies account for 13 per cent of the total recognised proptech startups.

Contech or construction technology is all about finding innovative ways to build more with less. In India, construction firms had chronically underinvested in technology. Today, the leading players are finally open to using advanced technologies like construction automation, tech-driven sustainability, and prefabricated materials.

The need for cost-effective, efficient, and faster construction has enabled the use of innovative construction technologies. This is evident from the share of startups focusing on this segment – a massive 57 per cent, says Prashant Thakur, Sr Director & Head – Research, Anarock Group.

For far too long, the real estate sector had stubbornly held on to age-old conventional models and practices of planning, management, construction, project execution, and sales. This may be due to the underlying risk considering the high asset value and the large quantum of investments required to explore new methods.

In India as well as globally, the sector was a chronic laggard in technology adoption – until 2020.