When Hantz Févry looked at commercial real estate, he saw the sector's paradox: buildings and properties are among the most significant assets in any economy, yet they remain largely offline, disconnected from the digital pulse that drives other industries. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Geolava, Févry is working to change that.
“Our goal is not to replace the human inspector or appraiser. It’s to have a pulse on the properties,” he told GlobeSt.com.
Geolava approaches the commercial real estate challenge by assembling a wide-ranging digital mosaic of property information. The company collects data from satellites in low Earth orbit, multispectral LiDAR scans, thermal sensors, as well as stratospheric, street and drone imagery. These tools reveal everything from traffic patterns to subtle roof defects—details that once demanded in-person site visits.
But the reach of Geolava extends further. The firm compiles data sets about zoning regulations, construction ordinances, foot traffic and even the nuanced histories of individual buildings. For investors or property managers, this detailed information would be difficult and time-consuming to amass through traditional methods.
Once gathered, the information flows through Geolava’s artificial intelligence platform, which performs a variety of analytical tasks, including predictive modeling. “Sometimes, the AI system can also make inferences that humans wouldn’t think about,” Févry said.
Yet, as he points out, more data doesn't always translate into better decisions. “We’re not trying to gather data for the sake of adding data. What is the relevant information? When will that information be important, depending on the objective of our client? We are an intelligence layer,” he said. Rather than offering off-the-shelf analytic tools, Geolava aims to act as an adaptable foundation, allowing clients to develop their own decision-making frameworks atop the company’s platform.
Today, remote property assessment on a large scale is nearly impossible, Févry argues, leaving both investors and managers with limited insight. “Right now, there is no way for anyone to remotely assess property at scale and have an understanding of those properties. It will democratize how people invest in commercial properties and who invests in commercial properties.”
So far, approximately 118 companies have subscribed to Geolava’s web application to explore the available data, with some clients already transitioning to enterprise agreements. As for the company’s future, Févry said, “What’s next is more workflows where people can come in with their objective and we can get them there — and also more [geographic] regions.”
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.