Dwelly, an AI-native residential lettings company, raises a $170m Series B, $95m of it equity, led by EQT Growth with General Catalyst co-leading.
Dwelly has passed 15,000 lettings, is already a top 10 UK letting agency, and expects to exceed 20,000 once pending deals close.
Co-founders say hiring operators and product engineers is the biggest constraint, competing with AI labs for talent that wants to automate real-world processes.
Dwelly raises $170m to roll up lettings agencies with AI
Dwelly buys UK letting agencies and moves them onto shared AI infrastructure, and its $170m Series B shows investors now back that model. The acquired agencies are profitable, and AI strips out administrative work so staff can serve landlords and tenants. The founders see a trillion-dollar opportunity beyond the UK, with hiring as the main limit.
Takeaways
Investors now back AI-native services roll-ups. Dwelly raised $170m, of which $95m is equity, led by EQT Growth with General Catalyst co-leading. Ilia Drozdov notes services are close to 70% of European GDP and says AI will raise service levels across them.
Dwelly is scaling lettings through acquisitions. Lettings passed 15,000, up from about 10,000 at the last episode, and should top 20,000 once current deals close. Dwelly started in mid-2024, has bought tens of agencies, and is already a top 10 UK letting agency.
Acquired agencies are profitable and integrate faster. Changes show up three to six months after integration. Acquired businesses are profitable by design, so debt serviceability improves over time. Integrations sped up once the team openly discussed career opportunities, because AI frees staff for client work.
AI can return agents to advisory work. Regulatory burden turned many letting agents into administrators. Ilia Drozdov argues AI takes over that load, so agents can spend time with landlords and tenants and act as wealth managers for clients, as the profession originally intended.
The addressable market is very large. The UK has about 5m rental properties, and Dwelly holds under half a percent. With roughly 100bn in annual rental volume and 10% commission, Dan Lifshits sees a UK market near 10bn. Europe is at least five times larger.
Hiring is the main constraint. Dan Lifshits and Ilia Drozdov say operators and product engineers are hardest to find. Dwelly competes with AI labs and application companies, and pitches engineers on automating real-world processes that affect the 25% of people living in rented homes.
AI-native services became a hot category. Dan Lifshits says the term went from forbidden to heavily hyped, and that EQT, long a roll-up investor, illustrates the shift. He argues successful transformation combines founder-led energy with AI nativeness from day one.
What comes next for Dwelly
Ilia Drozdov hopes Dwelly reaches the UK top five letting agencies by the next interview.
International expansion depends on the UK market growing without the founders' personal involvement. Ilia Drozdov says that point is close, and it requires adapting the technology to new languages and legislation.
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On this episode 3
Show 1
Dwelly has around $500m in GMV and hopes to be far above $1bn by the next interview.
The aim is an AI-native end-to-end transactional platform for tenants, landlords and maintenance providers, making standardized transactions feel customized.