Antony Catalano invests in property data and AI business Propic

June 9, 2021 1:38

Australian Community Media (ACM) executive chairman Antony Catalano has made a significant investment in property data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) business Propic, as it continues its aggressive growth mandate.

Propic has developed two products which will provide real time property market intelligence to ACM and the broader group of companies, which Catalano and partner Alex Waislitz have invested in.

ACM executive chairman, Antony Catalano

This AI software is said to enable real estate agents and property managers to serve customers 24/7, along with a platform that tracks every property in Australia every day.

Catalano said that his investment continues a commitment to “grow and evolve” as emerging technologies prove to valuable to exisiting assets.

“Jeff and the team have developed two compelling products and we can see a range of strategic and operational applications.

“Their use of AI is first class and it provides an understanding of vendor propensity we’ve not seen before. This will help us understand the property market broadly but also at a granular level when looking at shifting trends of both buyer and vendor behaviour.”

Propic CEO, Jeff Gray, said: “We are excited by the investment and support of Antony and Alex. This funding will see a significant scale-up in the business, proving Australia can lead in the technology space. We genuinely believe our solutions will become ubiquitous, transforming the customer and agent experience here and overseas,”

Propic CEO, Jeff Gray

The investment in Propic has been made by IMP, which is Catalano and Waislitz’s real estate digital media investment vehicle, which also holds the equity in Realestateview.com.au. In late 2020, ACM established a joint venture with real estate listing platform Realestateview.com.au, which saw ACM become the majority shareholder.

The latest transaction follows a series of additional investments in other property tech start-ups as the pair look to build an integrated real estate digital media and agent services company which aims to target categories in the $250 billion annual real estate transaction market.

“We look forward to working with Jeff and the team to not only help build the Propic business but leverage their tools for the broader group.” said Catalano.

Propic was founded and is headed up by former Domain executive Jeff Grey who managed the Agent Services department at Domain during ACM executive chairman Antony Catalano’s four years as Domain CEO. Catalano left the company in January 2018.

ACM recently recruited Jen Melocco as national property news director. Melocco joined ACM from Domain, where she previously worked as editor of the Domain Magazine with Catalano.

Emma Shepherd

Emma Shepherd was the acting deputy editor at Mumbrella who has over seven years of print and digital experience in the industry and has previously worked as a reporter for media outlets Bauer Media (now Are Media), Yahoo Australia, and a content strategist and writer for various independent marketing agencies.

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