Toronto Real Estate Venture Builder R-Labs Secures $3.5 Million in Funding
Toronto-based real estate venture builder R-Labs has raised an additional $3.5 million CAD for its evergreen fund, bringing its total raised to $28 million. This latest funding round was led by new investor Hatch, which has joined R-Labs as both a limited partner (LP) and an ecosystem partner. Existing LPs from Canada’s real estate sector, including Oxford Properties, Dorsay Development, and LandSure Systems, also participated in the funding.
George Carras, founder and CEO of R-Labs, told BetaKit that this capital will enable the firm to launch new startups focused on pressing issues in housing, such as affordability, climate resiliency, and sustainability, through the use of technology. “We’re in an environment where traditional business models are not functioning,” Carras said, referencing the pre-sale condominium market that once provided affordable housing supply but has become less viable under current macroeconomic conditions. “What do we do about that? We either wait for the environment to come back, blame people, or innovate. This is great evidence of a community of innovators in Canada coming together in this Canadian crisis-tunity moment,” he added, coining a term that combines crisis and opportunity.
How R-Labs Works
Founded in 2018, R-Labs collaborates with founders and corporations to build and support new companies with tech-enabled business models that target specific real estate issues. Carras explained that the firm aims to mitigate risk by forming these startups with experienced entrepreneurs and established real estate industry players. “When you bring multiple corporations together, each with unique capabilities, corporate innovation becomes industry innovation,” Carras stated. He welcomed Hatch’s involvement, saying, “It expands the lab’s capabilities by adding an important engineering innovation dimension.”
Track Record and Future Plans
R-Labs has co-created 43 ventures and five startups to date. Notable startups include Assembly, a mass timber construction firm; Noah Intelligence, a property flood-risk assessment platform; and RIOS, a real estate industry operating system. According to Carras, R-Labs’ startups have collectively raised $27 million from R-Labs LPs and other sources. Carras believes that over the past seven years, R-Labs has successfully brought together Canada’s previously siloed real estate industry.
Looking ahead, Carras emphasized that Canada needs to focus on the industrialization of housing—specifically factory-built or off-site housing construction—to address issues related to housing affordability, supply, and climate impact. He noted that prefabricated and modular housing can reduce construction times, costs, and emissions compared to traditional methods. Recently, R-Labs announced the second cohort of its eight-week REALFounders program, designed to help exited founders build or refine real estate and housing-related startup ideas. Applications for the program are due on July 16.
