Fifth Wall

?? What an amazing week at Groundbreak!?? We had an amazing time connecting with you all! Here are a few additional pieces of Trunk Tools news: 1?? Last week, Trunk Tools won 3rd place at the Cemex Ventures Construction Startup Competition 2024! ?? We are incredibly proud to be recognized among the world’s most innovative construction tech startups. Thank you to Cemex Ventures, Trimble Inc., and all the partners for this incredible opportunity to showcase how Trunk Tools is transforming the construction industry with AI. ?? 2?? Our CEO, Dr. Sarah Buchner, published an article in Construction Superintendent Magazine: "Transforming the Field". Her piece dives into how new construction technologies are reshaping workflows and empowering teams in the field. ??? Full article -> https://lnkd.in/evCWKtrM 3?? Dr. Sarah Buchner was also featured on the Bricks & Bytes Podcast! In this episode, Sarah shares her inspiring journey from working as a carpenter at age 12 to becoming a Stanford-trained innovator leading Trunk Tools. She dives into how the team built an AI-powered platform to process construction documents and has raised a total of $30M. ?? Listen here -> https://lnkd.in/gHd_E-pB 4?? We also wanted to share this Bricks & Bytes report about "the The Future Of Construction Document Management - How AI Is Disrupting" -> https://lnkd.in/gW9_qN6g #ConstructionTech #CemexVentures #TrunkTools #Innovation #ConstructionSuperintendent #FieldTransformation

"With respect to the new generative AI technologies and LLM adoption, the real estate industry, for the first time in our history is a leader, not a laggard." You heard that right. Don't blink. This is a big change from just a decade ago. The real estate industry is ahead of the curve on technology, and Zach Aarons (MetaProp) thinks the industry has potentially "crossed a chasm" with an industrywide attitude to adopt technology. The real estate industry is already using LLMs to communicate with existing and potential tenants, and the implementation of this generative AI is serving as a model for other industries like financial services and education to safely and efficiently incorporate this technology into daily operations. #proptech #realestate

?? Congratulations to Fifth Wall's Brendan Wallace and Sarah Liu for being named again to Inman's "Best of Proptech" list! We would also like to congratulate our portfolio companies Pacaso, Homebound,?Higharc, Opendoor,?Flyhomes, Blend,?Sundae, and more for their placement on the list—as well our peers Zach Aarons and Zak Schwarzman of MetaProp and Spencer Rascoff of 75 & Sunny. #proptech #venturecapital

Q: What's the best advice for founders? A: "Don't give up...the most successful founders can suffer a lot." Dr. Sarah Buchner, Founder & CEO of Fifth Wall portfolio company Trunk Tools, knows from personal experience that your journey as a founder will have high highs and low lows. It's important to celebrate the wins, but it's even more important to keep going during hard times—because the longer you persevere, the easier it gets. #venturecapital #entrepreneurship

Thrilled to announce a powerful new chapter for Trunk Tools: we’ve officially integrated with Microsoft Teams! ?? This integration brings the power of our AI-driven solutions right into the MS Teams environment, where construction teams already collaborate every day. Now, job site teams can access crucial project insights, automate workflows, and make faster, smarter decisions—all without leaving Teams. Special thanks to Ajoy B.., Director of Technology Strategy at Microsoft, for partnering with us to bring this integration to life! This is another step toward our mission to empower the construction industry with seamless, efficient tools that let builders focus on building. ?? Check out our demo and learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eiwJynwh #ConstructionTech #AI #Innovation #MicrosoftTeams #TrunkTools

?? Congratulations to Fifth Wall portfolio company Merlin Solar Technologies for being featured in Inc. Magazine for their peel-and-stick solar panels! Merlin, founded by two former Intel colleagues Murali Venkataraman and Bob Brainard, makes solar panels that are lightweight and flexible, meaning they can go where traditional solar panels cannot. #solar #climatetech

?? As artificial intelligence firms add headcount, The Wall Street Journal reports the tech sector leased its most office space in the last three years. Ironically, the work done by these artificial intelligence teams in office today could dramatically reduce the need for in-office workers in the future, as artificial intelligence will increase likely worker productivity and replace certain jobs entirely. #office #ai #realestate

Uniper has announced Electric Hydrogen as its exclusive partner to design a 200MW electrolyzer plant for its Green Wilhelmshaven project in Germany. Electric Hydrogen was selected for its advanced PEM technology and fully integrated system design which achieves the lowest cost of green hydrogen possible. Electric Hydrogen’s 100MW Plants are available for deployment in Europe in 2026. “We’re excited to begin work on this project with Electric Hydrogen, in whom we have found a partner who understands our goals and supports our vision,” said Susanne Th?le, Director of Hydrogen for Uniper. Read the announcement here ?? https://bit.ly/3Z8YWyy

?? What should proptech entrepreneurs focus on when starting and building their companies? Fifth Wall CEO & CIO Brendan Wallace and MetaProp Co-Founder and General Partner Zach Aarons discuss what founders should be thinking about. 1. Domain expertise matters. Prior experience in real estate or at a technology startup goes a long way, and it's a great thing to see in a founding team. (Of course this is not a golden rule, and good ideas can come from anywhere.) 2. Product, marketing, and sales all matter. Don't focus on one too much, at the detriment of another: you shouldn't be all sales and no marketing, nor should you be all marketing and no product. They might not all be a 10 out of 10, but it's a balance. They're all key things, and Zach has seen this mistake made a lot. 3. Speak the language of the real estate industry, and understand that your end user wants to see near-immediate return-on-investment when adopting your tech product. Master articulating how your product creates efficiency and improves margins for your end user. #proptech #entrepreneurship

Merlin Solar Technologies is redefining solar with lightweight, flexible panels for new applications like truck tops and non-load-bearing roofs. Backed by $31M in Series B funding from Fifth Wall, Saint-Gobain, and Ayala Corporation, we’re ready for our next chapter. Hear more from our President, Founder, & CTO, Venkatesan Murali and Fifth Wall’s CEO & CIO, Brendan Wallace in this video! #MerlinSolar #Solar #Funding #VentureCapital #ClimateTech