Airtasker founder to lead merged Australian proptech as Eduardo Saverin backs deal
What's the deal? Australian proptechs SohoAI and InspaceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → are merging under a new, unnamed parent company, with Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin backing the deal through his Singapore-based fund B Capital. Both brands will continue, pooling resources across residential property discovery and commercial property marketing and leasing.
Who's involved? SohoAI cofounder and chief executive officer Jonathan Lui, who previously cofounded ASX-listed AirtaskerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, will lead the combined business. Inspace founder and chief executive officer Justin Liang takes a board position.
What do they do? SohoAI runs an AI-powered property search, relaunched last month with chatbot-based searches and a digital concierge to organise inspections and negotiate with agents. Inspace offers remote 3D building tours and predictive intelligence tools that it says support more than $190 billion in property assets globally, including at DexusDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Goodman GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Mirvac.
Why now? The merger lands amid a sharp property-market downturn. Cotality estimates national home sales in the three months to October were about 23% below a year earlier, while dwelling values fell 1.2% in October, 6.7% below their March peak.
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised rates for a 5th time in 2026 this week, and the May federal budget's property tax changes have weighed on demand. A downturn makes consolidation and fresh capital notable.
The money: The combined entity secured a capital injection from B Capital and others, though the amount was not disclosed. B Capital is an existing Inspace investor, alongside OIF VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, InvestibleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and ArtesianDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? Lui framed the deal as growth, not cost-cutting. "Our primary goal here is to be bigger and better than before, rather than to save money or slash teams," he said. Liang said the merger would accelerate product development.
The signal: Bringing complementary property technologies together while an investor funds the combined business signals a strategic bet on scale through a tougher market, rather than retreat.
Read more: startupdaily.net
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
