Baloise Group invests in Houzy

According to a press release, the Baloise Group is investing in the Zurich-based PropTech start-up Houzy. With this move, the insurance group from Basel is seeking to expand its portfolio to include innovative technologies in connection with the home.

Houzy operates a digital platform that intelligently connects data and produces recommendations for homeowners on the basis of this. For example, it is able to calculate when the central heating system is due for refurbishment and how much money should be put aside to pay for this. However, it can also link homeowners with suitable partners for maintenance and other tasks. Service providers pay a fixed annual fee to be listed on the platform, while it comes free of charge for users.

Following the investment made by the Baloise Group, Houzy has, according to information from the company itself, now closed a Series A financing round. As part of this financing round, the start-up raised “several million” Swiss francs, which it intends to use to drive forward additional growth in Switzerland. In addition to the Baloise Group, Houzy also successfully secured an investment from the major Zurich bank UBS. Nevertheless, as before, the founders retain the majority shareholding.

“We were looking for partners not only to invest in Houzy but who would also be suitable strategic partners for us. With the Baloise Group and its ‘Home’ ecosystem, numerous synergies are being created that will accelerate our development, which is good news for us all”, comments Stefan Schärer, CEO of Houzy.