About Giraffe360
Giraffe360 is an innovative, hardware-as-a-service robotics and property technology startup.
Founded in 2016 by brothers Mikus Opelts and Madars Opelts in Riga, Latvia, the concept evolved from a prior business venture of theirs that specialised in creating virtual tours and videos for luxury real estate properties and hotels.
Mikus and Madars identified a need in the real estate industry for an affordable, streamlined solution that could deliver results through technology and replace the traditional services offered by professional photographers and architects. Their aim, to create an all-in-one product that would be simple to use, eliminate the lengthy turnaround times of professional services, and provide the same high-quality results at a fraction of the cost.
It resulted in them engineering and building their own proprietary hardware and software solution, as there was no alternative available in the market.
The Giraffe360 product and software suite has closed a technology gap that existed in the property market.
About the technology – Giraffe360 merged robotics, AI, proptech and SaaS
The Giraffe360 hardware unit, which some customers refer to as ‘the Giraffe’, houses a 3D-imaging camera and a lidar laser. The camera produces stunning photos and video, whilst the laser scans and collects precise measurements of an area, such as the interior of a house.
The company is continually launching new features whilst building on its existing technology, with user simplicity being a key driver in their product design.
The recent launch included their model-4 Go-Cam, which flaunts operating speeds three times faster than their previous generation cameras. Once the user presses a button, ‘the Giraffe’, the AI and the software does the rest.
Automated processing takes place in the cloud, making use of their own algorithm. The result, real-time production of virtual tours, HDR photographs and floor plans with a 98%+ accuracy.
The SaaS component also provides marketing and editing features, allowing property professionals to easily customise the generated collateral to match their branding and marketing needs. A few examples are interactive virtual tours, integration into social media platforms.
To experience the richness of the product, we’ve included a link at the bottom of this feature.
The market leader
The Giraffe360 offering is unique in the proptech visualisation industry. Being the leading product in the UK and European market, they only have one competitor - US-based Matterport.
Already available in 30 countries, their subscription service is used by numerous real estate agents including leading estate agency brands.
Gints Sloka, CFO Giraffe360
Q: The company expanded into the USA market, tell us more about that.
“ The US expansion is the biggest step in our expansion. We opened a US subsidiary in 2021, headquartered in Miami. The traction has been good with our service offering; it’s a good product-market fit. The market is huge for us. ”
Q: Did you find entering the US market different to entering your other markets?
“ The UK and the different countries in Europe were similar for us in terms of our customer base. In Europe and the UK, real estate agents work from offices comprising of a few agents in each office. A real estate franchise chain would use one ‘Giraffe’ between the agents in each office. The key difference in the US customer base is that there are a lot of individual real estate brokers working independently for themselves. We tailored our subscription offering for the US market to offer a smaller service bundle for them. Other than that, there was no difference. ”
Q: What wisdom can you impart to us about moving into new markets?
“ You need to be present. If you look at the UK. It was Mikus who moved from Latvia to the UK. He was actively involved, driving the business. Talking to each customer personally and building the initial relationships. He did the same in the US. Customers appreciate that. Being on the ground and being accessible. Use that opportunity while you can in the early stages of your business, then bring staff on board expanding the customer base. Also, have good employees in place.”
At the end of 2022, Giraffe360 announced their Series A round led by Founders Fund, who have backed companies such as SpaceX, Spotify, and Airbnb.
The Founders Fund investment management team includes Delian Asparouhov, co-founder of Varda Space Industries, which is building the world’s first space factories, as well as Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal. The round also included existing investors LAUNCHub Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, HCVC (Hardware Club) and Change Ventures.
CLP’s financing
Giraffe360 experienced accelerated growth through increased demand for its product. To meet the demand, they had to rapidly increase the manufacturing of the hardware component of their product.
CLP assisted by providing a financing solution to match Giraffe360’s growth plan, providing finance for the capital expenditure and extending their cash runway until they had raised their next round.
The run-on effect was that Giraffe360 was able to increase its valuation, raising $16M and obtaining a prestigious next round investor. CLP is thrilled to have played a role in Giraffe360’s success.
Our debt financing solution can be applied by a client across various financial requirements within their business and offers a broader scope as a financial lending solution. In this case, CLP financed asset acquisitions as well as operating capital within a single loan.
Keen to see a demonstration of the awesome Giraffe360 experience?
Follow this link. Hear from Giraffe360’s CEO, Mikus Opelts and fellow team members. See the latest Q1, 2023 features launched.