A startup that helps shopping centres and other facilities to understand their tenants’ performance by conducting a detailed, privacy-friendly analysis of people flow with artificial intelligence, and Espora, a green-roof system tailored to urban environments, are the winners of the 1st ESADE Alumni Real Estate Innovation Challenge, organised by the ESADE Alumni Real Estate Club and ESADE Alumni Entrepreneurship. The two startups will share the €6,000 prize and carry out pilot projects in collaboration with CBRE, Colonial and Anticipa, the ESADE Alumni Real Estate Club sponsors that organised the competition.

This first edition of the challenge received more than 40 proposals. Seven candidates were selected as finalists and called to present their projects before a panel of experts, investors and business executives from companies linked to the real estate sector. All of the proposals addressed a significant challenge in the real estate sector and had high growth potential.

The startups that took part in the challenge included ARmove, which applies virtual reality in the real estate sector; Aticus, which proposes the use of a vertical building model and air rights to build on roofs; Daysk, a mobility solution that offers on-demand access to desks and meeting rooms at business centres, co-working spaces and hotels; NPG, which converts spaces into autonomous business units using blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT); and Trioteca, a mortgage buyer.

Some of the startups, including the co-winner Cubelizer, had prior links to ESADE. Last year, Cubelizer secured funding from an ESADE BAN investor, while Daysk took part in the sixth edition of EMPENTA, a business incubation and acceleration programme organised by ESADECREAPOLIS and ACCIÓ. In addition, Josep Ballesté, co-founder and CEO of ARmove, and Jordi Vericat, founder of NPG, are alumni of ESADE Business School.