Steven Cohen-led firm invests in Israeli tech startup
STAMFORD — Point72 Ventures, the venture capital business founded by billionaire hedge fund investor Steven Cohen, announced this week that it was coleading a $7 million investment in a construction planning technology firm.
The seed funding will support Tel Aviv, Israelbased Swapp in expanding its construction planning platform and artificial intelligence capabilities, according to an announcement of the investment, which was co-led by Venture capital firm Entrée Capital, with existing investors also participating.
“We believe Swapp has the ability to reinvent architecture by automating the entire construction planning process,” Daniel Gwak, a partner at Point72 Ventures, said in a statement. “Swapp’s AI-powered platform is designed to help modernize real estate development by simplifying the slow and fragmented planning process, allowing developers to create a full set of architectural plans within weeks. We are pleased to support their continued growth.”
Swapp officials said their firm offers real estate developers and construction companies a single platform for their entire construction planning, allowing work to begin within weeks instead of nine to 12 months.
The company was founded by three entrepreneurs who sold their last venture to Autodesk, a leading provider of architecture and construction software.
“We are already working with some of the biggest names in the construction industry to replace the slow, tedious, and inflexible construction planning process with our smart, efficient, and flexible, planning solution,” said Eitan Tsarfati, Swapp’s co-founder and CEO, in a statement. “This investment will help us grow our customer base and expand our AI capabilities to advance the future of construction planning.”
Ventures’ funding for Swapp follows several other multimillion-dollar investments in the past couple of years.
Last June, Point72 Ventures announced it was investing $20 million in commercial real estate brokerage HelloOffice.
In October 2019, it led a $16 million investment in Bayzat, a United Arab Emirates-based startup that focuses on digital HR services.
In May 2019, the firm spearheaded a $45 million investment in San Francisco-based Tempo Automation, which specializes in assembling printed circuit boards, using artificial intelligence-based robotics and software automation.
Around the same time, it jointly led a $13 million funding round for Minneapolis-based ClickSwitch, which automates changes in direct deposits and recurring payments for financial institutions’ account holders.
In April 2019, the firm co-led an $11 million investment in Manhattanbased financial-technology firm Extend.
Ventures was founded in May 2016, about two-and-a-half years after Cohen founded the main investment firm that he runs today, Stamford-based hedge fund Point72 Asset Management. Ventures’ launch responded to the large volume of deals pitched to Cohen.
In total, Ventures has made more than 50 investments.
Ventures employs more than 25, with offices at Point72 Asset Management’s headquarters at 72 Cummings Point Road, in Stamford’s Waterside section, as well as others in New York City and Palo Alto, Calif. It operates separately from Point72 Asset Management, but its insights are shared with the latter.
In addition to his work at Point72, Greenwich resident Cohen has become well known to baseball fans through his acquisition last year of the New York Mets.