U.S. unicorn to create engineering hub in Toronto

VTS Inc., a U.S. property-tech unicorn, is expanding its Canadian operations with an engineering hub in Toronto.

The New York-based company plans to hire at least 50 staff by the end of 2020, taking advantage of the city’s deep pool of engineering talent and strong commercial real-estate customer base, according to Nick Romito, founder and chief executive of VTS.

The company may also expand to Vancouver and Montreal.

“We’re trying to use Toronto as a jumping off point for the rest of Canada,” Romito said by telephone.

Founded in 2012, VTS is one of the largest property technology startups in North America. Its platform covers more than 12 billion square feet of commercial real estate — or about half the buildings in North America, Romito said.