National Australia Bank has led an $11 million funding round in property intelligence platform Archistar.
Skyfield, Skip Capital and a range of private investors were also included alongside NAB Ventures. This follows Archistar receiving $6 million in funding in a fully-subscribed round in April 2021, which included investment from VC fund AirTree Ventures.
Founded in 2018, Archistar’s product combines architectural design with artificial intelligence to inform decision-making in property.
Used by architects, planners, developers and agents, the software gives instant information on the type of residential projects allowable on any development site in Australia based on local planning and zoning rules. It allows professionals to create and assess hundreds of compliant 3D generative designs, exploring features like height restrictions, exposure to sunlight and ventilation.
The funding from the latest round will be used to expand Archistar’s product suite to the residential home market, allowing the automatic assessment of 3D home design for compliance against planning codes.
It will also support Archistar’s expansion into the US starting with the Dallas market where it has signed its first developer client. The business has spent the last 12 months updating its platform to adhere to US planning codes and restrictions.
Over the next 12 months, there are plans to tailor Archistar’s product to additional states, including Florida, California, North Carolina, Arizona and Virginia.
NAB Ventures executive, Todd Forest says: “Through our bankers’ relationships with customers, we understand how important it is to have access to quality insights when it comes to making decisions about property developments. We’re really impressed by the capability in Archistar’s platform and believe this is a great fit for NAB Ventures. We look forward to working with Archistar, introducing them to our customers, and looking at further opportunities to work together.”