UK property startup using AI to consolidate and streamline real estate brokers secures $93 million for growth
London-based startup Dwelly, established by former executives from Uber and Gett, has secured £69 million (approximately $93 million) to advance its strategy of acquiring and modernizing independent UK real estate agencies with artificial intelligence and digital tools.
The funding round includes £32 million in equity led by Silicon Valley’s General Catalyst, with contributions from Begin Capital and S16VC, as well as a £37 million debt facility provided by Nasdaq-listed alternative asset manager Trinity Capital.
Having already purchased 10 agencies, the company intends to use the capital to speed up its acquisition campaign. The UK lettings market is highly fragmented, comprising around 20,000 firms that collectively manage approximately 5.5 million rental properties. Dwelly estimates this market generates over £100 billion in annual rent and £10 billion in commissions, yet the top 100 agencies control under 30% of the market, with many relying on outdated, manual processes.
“We have surpassed 10,000 properties under management, ranking Dwelly among the UK’s top 15 largest letting agencies in under two years—a unprecedented growth rate for this sector,” stated Ilya Drozdov, Dwelly’s co-founder and CEO.
In an interview, Drozdov revealed the company currently oversees more than £200 million in gross rent. He announced a goal to manage 50,000 properties by year-end, which would position it as a top-five UK agency. Dwelly currently has nearly 300 employees, about 40 of whom are in head office roles focused on engineering, product, and analytics. Drozdov projected that the workforce could exceed 1,500 by the end of the year as acquisitions proceed.
Dwelly exemplifies an “AI-enabled roll-up,” a strategy involving the purchase of conventional businesses and the integration of technology to unlock efficiencies. While this approach has gained popularity, it faces skepticism from some critics who argue that merely using AI to cut administrative costs does not fundamentally change the business model or justify tech-like valuations.
Dwelly’s founders contend that the primary benefit of acquisitions is not just operational efficiency but also customer acquisition. With the average UK tenancy lasting three years, it is challenging to attract landlords away from their current agents organically.
“Structurally, it’s quite difficult to find a landlord through organic means because the opportunity to engage one between tenancies is limited,” explained co-founder and Chief Product Officer Dan Lifshits. “This is precisely why the roll-up strategy is, tactically, a way of purchasing a customer base.”
Lifshits, a former GM and global VP at Gett, mentioned that the founders evaluated but dismissed the idea of solely selling AI software to agencies. He noted that agencies are often resistant to changing their workflows, and the financial upside of software sales is significantly lower than owning the entire client relationship. “Selling software gives you about 1.5 to 2% of an agency’s P&L. Owning the agency and providing a full service gives you 100%,” Drozdov added.
Following an acquisition, Dwelly maintains the local brand and team but implements its AI-powered operating system to automate core tasks. In the lettings process, the AI manages tenant communication, background checks, and offer handling. Dwelly claims its system generates an average of 10 validated offers per property within three days, compared to the one or two offers typical of a conventional agency. Drozdov reported that the time to secure a tenant has been reduced from the industry standard of three weeks to under two weeks.
For property management, AI has reportedly cut the average time to resolve maintenance issues from 50 days to 20, with a target of further reducing it to 10. The system employs chatbots to triage tenant requests 24/7 and diligently tracks follow-ups with contractors to prevent tasks from being overlooked.
Lifshits stressed that the objective is to enhance the productivity of agency staff, not replace them. He observed that in a typical branch of 10-15 people, often only one employee is in the field conducting viewings, while the rest are desk-bound managing communications and coordination—tasks ideally suited for AI automation.
“It’s no accident that letting agents are among the top three most disliked professionals in the UK,” Drozdov commented. “Employees, despite wanting to offer excellent service, are overwhelmed by administrative duties. We alleviate that burden, allowing them to focus on the work they are passionate about.”
Zeynep Yavuz, a General Catalyst partner, said in a statement that the firm sees Dwelly as transforming “thousands of analogue, agency-level processes into scalable software, simultaneously enhancing the tenant experience, landlord economics, and agency efficiency.”
Drozdov, a former Uber GM who also co-founded a tech-driven rental agency in Russia that grew to 10,000 apartments, said Dwelly is currently concentrated on the UK but plans to expand into Western Europe—likely starting with France—and later the United States.
“Europe is a fantastic region to build companies, particularly in the age of AI,” Drozdov said.