By Nancy Dahlberg
Entic, a pioneer and leading player in the property-tech sector, is the latest homegrown company to exit.
Aquicore, a Washington, DC based commercial real estate software company, has acquired Entic, aiming to create a prop-tech powerhouse. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Entic team will remain in South Florida.
An Endeavor company that is also backed by Blackstone Group, Entic was founded by Carlos Diaz and Manuel Rosendo in 2011 and is based in Pembroke Pines. Entic’s solution offers building owners and operators a reduction in energy usage with its cloud-based, SaaS platform that implements operational intelligence, analytics and advanced sensor technology to deliver portfolio-wide savings.
Entic’s prescriptive analytics solution that generates targeted recommendations to drive peak utilities and facilities performance for commercial assets is best in class, Aquicore said.
With the acquisition, Aquicore begins to consolidate the fragmented prop-tech market. In South Florida, prop-tech is gaining traction and Entic has been a pioneer and leader in the sector.
“The Entic and Aquicore teams offer an incredibly special complementary set of skills that will really change this industry for the better now that we are working in unison,” said Diaz, co-founder and CEO of Entic.
In an interview Tuesday, Diaz explained that Entic and Aquicore served two completely different ends of the market. Entic’s solution is used by large commercial facilities, like hotels, hospitals and stadiums, while Aquicore services smaller properties. Both solutions will now be offered under the Aquicore brand.
Diaz, a seasoned software architect, has joined Aquicore’s executive team and all of Entic’s employees will remain in their current offices in South Florida, Diaz said. Rosendo, an HVAC industry veteran, had previously left an active role in the company in 2018 but served on the board until the acquisition. The combined team will now total more than 60 people in several offices.
Over the years, Entic has served marquee local clients including Marlins Park and Diplomat Resort & Spa. Another satisfied customer: the private equity giant Blackstone Group whose real estate funds used the product for its buildings in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
In 2017, Blackstone made an undisclosed strategic investment in Entic, accelerating its growth strategy. ClearSky and Fifth Wall are also backers. In addition, Entic raised more than $12 million in seed and Series A funding leading up to the Blackstone investment.
Later in 2017, Entic was selected by the global entrepreneurship network Endeavor to join its network.
Entic’s prescriptive analytics and building recommendations will be made available through Aquicore’s cloud-based platform that also provides utility budget tracking and tenant billing tools, Aquicore said in a press release. The Entic acquisition also launches the company into the hospitality vertical, it added.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the merging of these two teams. Together, we will propel the prop-tech industry forward, giving the commercial real estate industry a powerful solution unlike any it’s ever seen. When experts look back at the evolution of this market, the combining of Aquicore and Entic will be a milestone,” said Aquicore founder and CEO Logan Soya.
Said Diaz: “Now we can really capture this ethos that we have, which is no building left behind. … With a larger team, we have access to more tools and people and knowledge and best practices to scale a lot faster and dominate the market. And we have incredible investors … it’s the who’s who of commercial real estate.
“I’m proud of the team and we are going to bring our South Florida flair to this company.”
This story was updated. Follow @ndahlberg on Twitter and email her at [email protected].
