Investment will address growing global demand from tenants seeking well connected buildings
WiredScore, the global rating scheme for digital connectivity in commercial real estate buildings, today announced a $9 Million USD Series A raise.
The funding was secured from Bessemer Venture Partners, Fifth Wall, Sterling.VC and leading global commercial real estate investors including Legal & General, KingSett Capital, U+I, Town Centre Securities, MOMENI Digital Ventures, and Savitt Partners.
WiredScore acts as a trusted benchmark for a building’s connectivity, giving greater transparency to tenants. The certification also provides landlords and developers with the necessary insights to improve and future-proof their buildings’ connectivity standards.
The raise follows a year of domestic and global expansion for WiredScore driven by an influx of commercial real estate firms prioritizing investment into their digital connectivity strategies. During the first three quarters of 2018, WiredScore responded to the increased demand by expanding into eight new cities and saw a 45% uptake in certified buildings within that time-frame.
Arie Barendrecht, WiredScore Founder and CEO, said: “As businesses become more dependent on digital connectivity, we are seeing a shift in the landlord’s responsibility to deliver well connected buildings. No longer does the solution to connectivity issues sit solely between a tenant and their internet service provider. The reality is that the driving factor in powerful, reliable connectivity is the building infrastructure provided by landlords.
“Our Series A commercial real estate investors join our client base of over 450 landlords who are taking responsibility for the shift. Commercial owners including EQ Office, Brookfield, Hines, Tishman Speyer, Boston Properties and Google leverage our expertise to help navigate the complexities of building technology so that they can provide a well-connected experience for the businesses who call their buildings home.”
The investment will support WiredScore’s expansion geographically and vertically into new product and service areas as the company continues to gain momentum both in the US and internationally.
Brad Greiwe, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Fifth Wall added, “Amenities are critical to today’s tenants and of the desired offerings, connectivity is paramount. However, it's simply not enough to invest in the technology. Landlords need a strategy in order to be successful and we believe WiredScore is the best partner to help them succeed.”
Following the global success of the company, there is now nearly 450 million sq ft of office space already committed to Wired Certification, and WiredScore now works with more than 450 forward-thinking landlords and developers globally including: EQ Office, Brookfield, Hines, Tishman Speyer, Boston Properties, Jamestown, Columbia Property Trust and Google. 1,700 buildings are committed to certification and 4 million people currently work in Wired Certified buildings across North America and Europe.
About WiredScore
WiredScore is the organization behind Wired Certification, the internationally recognized digital connectivity rating system for commercial real estate that helps landlords design and promote buildings with powerful digital connectivity.
Wired Certification champions cutting-edge technology in commercial real estate by providing the only certification for rating the infrastructure, connectivity and technological capacity of commercial buildings. WiredScore launched Wired Certification in 2013 in partnership with Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York; in October of 2017, an investment group led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Fifth Wall acquired the company’s majority share.
In an increasingly tech-driven economy, connectivity is fast becoming the most critical factor for tenants when selecting office space. The widely recognized Wired Certification seal is a trusted symbol that identifies buildings that have been independently certified to provide the best-in-class connectivity infrastructure that businesses require to thrive. For more information on Wired Certification or to find Wired Certified buildings, visit: http://wiredscore.com/
