London-based PropTech firm askporter has secured a £1.5 million in seed funding.

The property management software firm, which already counts Google as an investor, received fresh funding from Venture University, Pi Labs, Plug and Play, WISAG FM and Henley Investments.

It will use the money to launch a digital assistant, called porter, which can carry out routine, repetitive tasks automatically, such as arranging viewings and chasing arrears.

Chief executive Tom Shrive said: “Looking to the future, well-run properties will largely be managed by an AI assistant that has all the context of an actual manager and complete data transparency, freeing them up to focus on delivering value-added, human-touch experience to occupants.”

He claimed the firm’s technology already reduces the time spent on maintenance tasks from an average of 45 minutes to only three minutes. “Over the next six to 12 months, we will emulate these savings across the entire property management spectrum,” Shrive added.

Justin Meissel, chief investment officer of Henley Investments, agreed that the property management sector is inefficient and ripe for disruption. “askporter has assembled a top tier team, and their initial traction with key management companies is evidence that their innovative tech is transformative.”

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