Welcome to this week's funding and investment roundup, starting in India...
According to the Economic Times, real estate marketplace Settlin has raised $500,000 U.S. in funding.
Participants included the Brigade Real Estate Accelerator Program (REAP).
Based in Bengaluru, Settlin connects agents and brokers with buyers and sellers on a freelance basis. Settlin also provides technology such as virtual property tours to ease the workload of independent real estate professionals.
The fast-growing startup has gained traction in the Bengaluru market, with its data-driven approach and gig-enabled workforce allowing it to execute resale opportunities without the need for a high-street agent.
REAP will help Settlin scale its operations by mentoring the team and providing market access.
French real estate marketplace GoFlint has been granted a €700,000 loan by Bpifrance to recruit new talent and improve its user and advertiser experience.
Bpifrance is a French public sector investment bank.
The money will also allow GoFlint to double investments in its AI project integrated with WhatsApp, Flint-E, throughout 2025.
Mihai Gavriloiu, CEO and co-founder at GoFlint, said:
"This support from Bpifrance marks a decisive step for GoFlint. It allows us to accelerate our development, attract top talent, and strengthen our ability to push the boundaries of innovation, especially with Flint-E."
Flint-E is an intelligent assistant that transforms WhatsApp into a highly personalized property search engine. By combining artificial intelligence with the universality of WhatsApp, the product allows visitors to search using their own words and browse more than 450,000 real estate listings. WhatsApp has circa 43 million users in France alone.