QuintoAndar, a Brazilian real estate rental and sales startup, announced its first acquisition of 2022, the startup Noknox, which provides an app to connect residents and building managers, doormen, and service suppliers. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Noknox currently operates all over Brazil and has almost 34,000 registered users and about 100,000 housing units – about 60% of the users use the app every week. Through Noknox’s app, it is possible to register mail and packages, control visitors’ access, send notices to residents, book common spaces, and report incidents.
“The ‘smart home’ concept has become popular, and the same technology in Brazilians’ homes should also be available in the common area of the condos. We work to evolve a scenario in which most people still depend on hard-wired intercoms, communications on elevator posters, paper notebooks and spreadsheets, all offline,” explained Noknox CEO Joaquim Venancio.
“We understood that the people who interact in a condominium would benefit from modern and simple technological support. Noknox was an easy choice because it offers the best experience and product in the market,” added the CTO and co-founder of QuintoAndar, André Penha.
QuintoAndar’s plan now is to expand the reach of the app to condominiums all over Brazil, starting with the building managers registered in SíndicoNet, a content site and marketplace for condominiums acquired by QuintoAndar in 2020, who will be able to use the Plus version of Noknox’s app for free for 18 months.
READ ALSO: 180° Seguros snags $31.4 million in 8VC-led Series A to disrupt Brazil’s insurance market
With the purchase of Noknox, QuintoAndar advances in the strategy of expanding its operations beyond the traditional real estate market, something in line with the brand repositioning announced in January, after a key year for the Brazilian unicorn: in 2021, it figured on the list of the ten largest investment rounds in Latin American startups with its $300 million Series E round led by Ribbit Capital; a few months later, the proptech raised a $120 million Series E extension, reaching a valuation of $5.1 billion.
Also, QuintoAndar closed four acquisitions in 2021: in March, the proptech announced the purchase of Casa Mineira and its ads portal, expanding the visibility of partner real estate agents through its marketplace. In August, QuintoAndar acquired Atta Franchising, which operates a network of 113 franchisees and serves more than 1,500 real estate agents and independent consultants all over the country. In December, it brought to its portfolio Velo, a startup focused on renting properties through a digital guarantee that ensures payment on time, reducing the impact of default for real estate partners and landlords.
READ ALSO: QuintoAndar is valued at $5.1 billion after Series E round extension
The fourth acquisition was made at the end of 2021: the Navent Group, which includes the companies Zonaprop, in Argentina; Imovelweb, Wimoveis and Union Softwares, in Brazil; Plusvalia, in Ecuador; Compreoalquile, in Panama; Adondevivir and Urbania, in Peru; Inmuebles24, in Mexico; and Tokko Broker Software, which operates in all these markets.
The company currently has more than 150,000 contracts and BRL 80 billion in assets under management, operating in more than 50 cities in Brazil. With the acquisition of the Navent Group, it also became present in Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Mexico.
