Real estate tokenization specialist Propy has outlined plans for a $100 million expansion to acquire mid-sized title companies across the United States, aiming to streamline an industry that still relies heavily on manual processes with blockchain rails and artificial intelligence (AI).
“Over the next 12 months, we will acquire regional securities companies across the country,” Propy CEO Natalia Karayaneva told Coindesk in an interview. “This will allow us to achieve a billion-dollar valuation as a technology company.”
To raise funds for the rollups, Propy tapped a mix of traditional and on-chain lenders, including decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform Morpho. Propy claimed that this was one of the first known examples of private on-chain credit being used to finance M&A activities.
The expansion plans come at a time of growing interest in real estate tokenization, an effort to digitize property rights and streamline transactions via blockchain for efficiency gains. Title companies focus on verifying the ownership history of a property and ensuring that there are no legal claims, liens or disputes that could affect the sale. They also issue title insurance and manage the transfer of legal ownership in real estate transactions.
It’s a $25 billion market that’s still largely paper-based and spread across nearly 7,000 companies, many of which are small, mom-and-pop shops, Propy CEO Natalia Karayaneva told Coindesk in an interview.
Propy itself is a licensed title company and has processed $4 billion in digital real estate transactions by automating tedious processes using AI. By acquiring mid-sized securities companies in states like California, Florida and Texas, the company plans to streamline operations, reduce fraud and accelerate transaction closing times using blockchain technology and AI, she added.
At the heart of Propy’s efforts is Agent Avery, an AI filing agent designed to address the inefficiencies that consume the majority of a filing agent’s time, the company said.
The Avery agent has been trained on Propy transaction data and operates 24/7, supporting traditional and crypto payments. The tool can save about 40% of workload, the company estimated, allowing agents to close more deals.
Along with the expansion and development of AI, Propy also added former US Treasury official Chris Campbell and Science Inc. co-founder Mike Jones to its advisory board, joining previously named individuals including former SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar.
