Proptech venture capital did not come back to life in early 2026, but the situation worsened.
New investment data from the start of the year showed that although deal activity in January was about the same as last year, there was a dramatic jump in the amount of money flowing into real estate technology. This shift indicates that the funding landscape will be defined less by startup speed and more by concentration on larger, more established platforms.
For agents, brokers, and operators keeping a close eye on the technology landscape, the difference is important. Innovation isn’t going away, but investors increasingly favor companies with scale, infrastructure and the ability to absorb bigger checks.
Steady transaction flow, rapidly increasing capital
According to January statistics compiled by the Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation, about 50 proptech and adjacent real estate technology companies raised about $1.7 billion in that month. By comparison, in January 2025, there were 48 deals totaling $615 million.
The biggest difference is not trading volume, but capital intensity.
The average amount raised per deal has nearly tripled from about $12.8 million a year ago to about $34 million in January of this year. However, the median deal size has remained largely unchanged, hovering around $8 million.
This divergence reveals important power relations that shape the current venture environment. While a few large deals have lifted total capital deployments, a “typical” round looks about the same as last year.
From a practical standpoint, early-stage funding hasn’t suddenly exploded across the board. Instead, investors are writing huge checks to companies they deem capable of scalable infrastructure, platforms, or asset-backed models.
Capital is flowing up the stack
A closer look at where the dollar landed in January highlights that trend.
Seed and pre-seed rounds combined were only $64.5 million, and Series A funding totaled $58 million, an active but relatively small portion of total capital. By contrast, late-stage venture and corporate investments absorbed $459 million.
Debt financing played an unusually prominent role, totaling $369 million. This reflects the growing importance of structural capital in proptech models tied to real-world assets, recurring revenue, or infrastructure-centric services.
Private equity added an additional $320 million, and a combination of structural growth, strategic investments and non-traditional financings accounted for $444 million.
Taken together, this distribution suggests a market that values scale, capital structure, and operational durability more than earlier experiments suggested.
“Money moves in a completely different way.”
After years of trying to grow, today’s investors prioritize companies that can demonstrate sustainable economics and regulatory compliance. Shaun Bettman, CEO and chief mortgage broker at Eden Emerald Mortgages, says diligent conversations are now focused on profitability timelines.
“Investors are back, but this time the money is moving in a completely different direction,” Bettman told Inman. “VCs only fund companies with proven unit economics and clear revenue visibility. The ‘build an audience first, monetize later’ model is outdated and no one can bring it back.”
The change is most evident in the scrutiny surrounding customer acquisition. Investors want evidence that a company can quickly recover acquisition costs and retain customers.
“What I’m seeing in mortgage brokerage is that VCs are asking completely different questions during their diligence,” Bettman said. “They want to recoup customer acquisition costs within 12 months and are focusing more on churn than ever before.”
At the same time, AI is bringing new caution to investors. Companies using AI in underwriting and pricing face increased compliance expectations related to fair lending and disparate impact standards.
“Investors now want proptech companies to use AI to prove they are compliant,” Bettman said. “It extends diligence and changes the way deals are evaluated.”
The result has been an active but selective proptech funding environment. Investors reward platforms that demonstrate operational discipline, predictable returns, and regulatory safeguards. This is a change that could shape which technologies take center stage in real estate workflows this year.
What do you show to the industry?
One month’s data does not define a year. However, the January comparison provides an early snapshot of how proptech capital is shaping up heading into 2026. Deal numbers are stable, adoption is selective and increasingly focused on companies looking to execute at scale.
If this pattern holds true, we may not see a glut of new startups chasing incremental features this year. Rather, platforms that build infrastructure (trading systems, operational tools, AI-driven workflows, asset support services) that investors believe can be meaningfully extended within core real estate processes may be advantageous.
For founders, this environment provides clarity around business models, capital efficiency, and long-term durability. For investors, this reinforces the need to go beyond headline funding totals and understand where capital is actually concentrated.
For real estate professionals, here’s what’s important: The next wave of proptech tools is likely to be shaped not by rapid experimentation, but by platforms designed for scale, integration, and sustained deployment.
Whether January’s surge reflects an idiosyncrasy of timing or broader structural changes will become clearer as the year progresses. For now, proptech venture capital is looking active, but increasingly cautious about where the biggest checks will land.
Email Nick Pipitone
