dwelly funding

London-based property technology startup Dwelly has secured over €79.3 million (£69 million) in combined equity and debt funding to accelerate acquisitions and expand its AI-driven rental marketplace platform. The funding will enable the company to scale its technology, acquire more independent letting agencies, and strengthen its position in the UK’s highly fragmented property management sector.

The raise includes a €36.8 million equity round led by General Catalyst, with participation from Begin Capital and S16VC, alongside a €42.55 million debt facility from Trinity Capital. This blended funding structure provides both growth capital and acquisition financing, allowing Dwelly to accelerate its rollup strategy while continuing to invest in its artificial intelligence platform.

The funding represents a major milestone for Dwelly, which was founded in 2024 and has rapidly expanded through acquisitions and technology deployment.

What Dwelly does: AI-powered rental marketplace and property management

Dwelly operates an AI-driven property management and rental marketplace platform designed to modernise and consolidate independent letting agencies. Its core strategy combines acquisitions with proprietary technology to digitise and automate the entire rental lifecycle.

The company acquires independent letting agencies and integrates them into a unified AI-enabled operating system that manages tenant matching, rent collection, maintenance coordination, and pricing optimisation.

Key capabilities of Dwelly’s platform

Dwelly’s AI platform supports:

  1. Automated tenant and landlord matching based on behavioural and market data
  2. Digital contract execution and identity verification
  3. Automated rent collection and payment management
  4. AI-driven pricing optimisation based on market trends
  5. Maintenance request management using intelligent routing and automation
  6. Dynamic property listings and offer management

This infrastructure transforms traditionally manual property management processes into scalable digital workflows.

Funding breakdown and investors

Dwelly’s €79.3 million funding combines equity investment and debt financing, enabling both platform development and acquisition expansion.

Equity funding

The €36.8 million equity round was led by General Catalyst, a global venture capital firm known for backing major technology companies.

Other equity investors include:

  • Begin Capital
  • S16VC

These investors provide long-term strategic support as Dwelly builds its technology platform and expands market share.

Debt financing facility

The company also secured a €42.55 million debt facility from Trinity Capital. This financing allows Dwelly to acquire additional letting agencies without diluting equity ownership.

Debt facilities are commonly used in rollup strategies to accelerate acquisitions while preserving shareholder value.

Leadership and founding team

Dwelly was founded in 2024 by CEO Ilya Drozdov and Chief Product Officer Dan Lifshits. The founding team combines experience in technology, product development, and property operations.

Under Drozdov’s leadership, the company has scaled rapidly, acquiring eight agencies and managing over €230 million in gross merchandise value within its first year.

Drozdov has emphasised Dwelly’s long-term vision of building a fully transactional rental marketplace with integrated fintech capabilities. This includes rent payments, financial services, and automation tools designed to improve efficiency for landlords, tenants, and agents.

Dan Lifshits, as Chief Product Officer, oversees the development of Dwelly’s AI platform, which is designed to automate operational workflows and improve user experience across the rental ecosystem.

Rapid growth through acquisition strategy

Dwelly’s business model is based on acquiring independent letting agencies and integrating them into its technology platform.

In less than a year, the company has:

  1. Acquired eight letting agencies across the UK
  2. Scaled to more than 10,000 properties under management
  3. Reached over €230 million in gross merchandise value
  4. Become one of the UK’s top 15 largest letting agencies by portfolio size

This rapid growth highlights the scalability of Dwelly’s acquisition-driven expansion strategy.

Unlike traditional consolidators, Dwelly preserves agency brands and client relationships while upgrading operational infrastructure.

Market opportunity: modernising a fragmented £100 billion sector

The UK rental market represents a major opportunity for technology-driven consolidation and automation.

Key market statistics include:

  • Over €115 billion in annual rent roll
  • Approximately €11.5 billion in yearly agency commissions
  • Around 20,000 independent letting agencies nationwide
  • Approximately 5.5 million rental properties across the UK • Top 100 agencies control less than 30% of the market

This fragmentation creates inefficiencies and limits scalability, making the sector well suited for consolidation through technology.

Dwelly’s platform addresses these inefficiencies by standardising processes and improving operational efficiency.

How Dwelly uses AI to improve rental operations

Dwelly’s artificial intelligence platform is applied across every stage of the rental lifecycle.

Tenant matching and offer optimisation

Dwelly’s system enables properties to receive an average of 10 validated offers per listing, significantly increasing competition and improving landlord outcomes.

This approach also reduces letting times by approximately one-third, allowing properties to be rented faster.

Automated maintenance management

Maintenance coordination is one of the most inefficient aspects of traditional property management.

Dwelly’s AI-powered system provides:

  • 24/7 chatbot support for tenants
  • Automated routing of maintenance requests
  • Structured communication with contractors
  • Faster issue resolution times

The company has already reduced maintenance resolution times by approximately 33%, with further improvements expected.

Data-driven pricing optimisation

Dwelly uses aggregated operational data to optimise rental pricing, ensuring properties are competitively priced while maximising landlord returns.

This helps landlords achieve better occupancy rates and higher revenue.

Strategic vision: building a fully transactional rental platform

Dwelly’s long-term goal is to build a fully integrated rental marketplace that includes fintech services.

Future platform capabilities may include:

  1. Integrated payment processing
  2. Financial products for landlords and tenants
  3. Automated insurance and compliance management
  4. End-to-end digital rental transactions

This approach positions Dwelly as a technology infrastructure provider for the rental market.

How Dwelly will use the funding

The new funding will support several strategic priorities:

Acquisition expansion

Dwelly will continue acquiring independent letting agencies across the UK.

Technology development

The company will invest in improving its AI platform and automation capabilities.

Platform scaling

Funding will support infrastructure needed to manage larger property portfolios.

Market expansion

Dwelly may expand into additional regions as its platform matures.

Why this funding is significant

Dwelly’s €79.3 million funding round reflects strong investor confidence in AI-driven transformation of property management.

The combination of acquisitions and technology enables Dwelly to consolidate fragmented markets while improving efficiency.

By digitising rental operations and building a scalable marketplace platform, Dwelly is positioning itself as a major technology-driven property management company in the UK.

Also Read: Wayve raises $1.2B funding at $8.6B valuation to scale embodied AI for autonomous driving

By Ujwal Krishnan

Ujwal Krishnan is an AI and SEO specialist dedicated to helping UK businesses navigate and strategize within the ever-evolving AI landscape. With a Master's degree in Digital Marketing from Northumbria University, a degree in Political Science, and a diploma in Mass Communication, Ujwal brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to the intersection of technology, business, and communication. He is a keen researcher and avid reader on deep tech, AI, and related innovations across Europe, informed by their valuable experience working with leading deep tech venture capital firms in the region.