Digital transformation is no longer a choice but a “must” for real estate businesses to keep up with the trend and overcome the difficulties in the current new context.

However, aligning the business model with technology is not an easy task. In addition to applying technology, the vision and strategy of the leader, together with a dedicated team, will be the determining factors for the success of the digitalisation story.

The difficulty of digital transformation in real estate

In the real estate sector, digital transformation will help customers find suitable real estate properties at a reasonable price without spending too much time and travel costs. In particular, technology will help real estate agents connect with customers easily, helping real estate agencies optimise labour costs.

With such a large role in solving the equation of cost, time, and quality of transactions, digital transformation is truly a must-have trend for real estate businesses in the 4.0 era. However, experts also point out that digitalisation is inevitable but full of difficulties for real estate businesses.

The first difficulty to mention is the thinking and behaviour of customers. With a high-value product like real estate, most customers still want to be able to interact directly and find out before deciding to “spend money”. Once they have decided to buy a property, customers usually tend to meet in person instead of just paying online through a system.

The second challenge is the personnel factor. Previously, real estate sales agents traditionally sold properties had to meet customers to consult products and sell products directly. When applying technology, they have to plan and take customer care and update customer status in software applications.

They have to get used to interacting with the assigned management tools or applications to update and nurture every single potential. If digitalised activities do not show effectiveness shortly, many individuals tend to not focus on it anymore but go back to the traditional way of doing things.

Also Read: Understanding the role of AI in digital transformation

Therefore, personnel is an important factor determining the success of a real estate trade when transforming digitally. If the staff does not have a mindset about technology skills, works traditionally and is afraid of change, it will make the digitalisation in the business delayed or difficult to complete.

Next, with a system that has been in operation for a long time, real estate businesses cannot transform digitally immediately but need a long enough time to digitalise their operating processes gradually. Currently, many businesses have boldly invested in technology but still cannot completely change the traditional form of management and business.

What is the key to driving successful real estate digital transformation?

Digital transformation does not only depend on the factor of technology, but the most important thing lies in people. The personnel factor here does not only come from customers or the workforce, but it also comes from the mindset of the leader.

The right leadership mindset will promote the rapid digitisation of the business. Conversely, the narrow leadership mindset will unintentionally turn the leader into a “bottleneck”, eliminating the development of the organisation.

Accordingly, to promote successful real estate digital transformation, the leader needs to consider carefully the core issues of the business and the level of readiness of resources to implement digitalisation of their business.

Once they dare to change, real estate business owners need to build strategies, align business models to suit digital transformation, calculate information technology investment plans, and Focus on training and building a digital workforce.

In addition, it is necessary to create inspiration and spread the mindset of digitalisation to customers so that they gradually change their habits and traditional buying behaviour.

In the context of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution taking place strongly in all fields, digital transformation is an inevitable process that determines the survival of the business. Therefore, real estate businesses, especially business owners, need to proactively seize the opportunity to digitalise their own entire system successfully.

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Ever imagined owning a fragment of the Eiffel Tower or perhaps a portion of a prestigious downtown skyscraper? It might seem like a flight of fancy, but what if it was as tangible as holding shares of major companies like Tesla?

With the growing buzz around real-world assets (RWAs) in sectors such as real estate, FinTech, precious metals, and even credit loans, such ownership notions are inching closer to reality. And thanks to blockchain technology, RWAs are redefining the way asset ownership is being perceived. 

RWAs represent genuine and concrete pieces of tangible assets encoded “on-chain” and made digitally trackable. According to Boston Consulting Group, the market for tokenising illiquid assets as RWAs could potentially reach up to US$16.1 trillion by 2030. 

Real estate’s digital evolution

Real estate has long faced challenges with intermediaries, costs and legal complexities.

Today’s landscape is transforming, with real estate emerging as a key sector for RWAs. They signify an evolution towards enhanced multi-jurisdictional efficiency and access. “With real estate tokenisation, properties transform into blockchain-enabled assets, simplifying transactions and expanding access. New forms of access include fractional ownership, allowing micro-investments among a larger market audience,” says Erik Ramos-Paice, Co-Founder and Partner of Taiboku Capital.

This advantage extends beyond operational ease, bringing a transparent renaissance in real estate deals. From the inception of smart contracts to the crescendo of digitised ownership transfer, important transactional metadata is etched onto blockchain networks for data integrity. 

Yet, every innovation has its maze. Nations are still crafting their legal RWA guidelines – from the asset’s nature to taxation rules and from AML standards to KYC compliance. International trading of tokenised real estate adds another layer, demanding synchronised compliance amidst diverse jurisdictions.

RWAs: A new era for precious metals

The precious metals sector has often been enshrouded in ambiguities related to provenance, ethical sourcing, and supply chain management. Now, the process of RWA tokenisation holds the potential to transform these industry problems into working solutions.

While this doesn’t necessarily simplify the physical movement of the assets, it allows for far more efficient trading in terms of their digital representations. This ensures diligent tracking of blockchain-based supply chains while preserving tangible asset value.

Recognising the transformative power of RWAs, Ramos-Paice states, “The precious metals industry is starting to emphasize mandated reports strongly. These reports, if generated with the help of RWA technologies, can add an additional layer of assurance and traceability for auditors.”

Also Read: Is the Philippine real estate market ready for the next wave of proptech?

In the backdrop of this evolution, supply chain platforms like EMCO Network are exploring the intersection of precious metals with blockchain and RWAs. These platforms, in their quest to prioritise transparency, aim to address long-standing industry challenges of authenticating the origins of mined gold sources. This ultimately aids in enforcing ethical supply chain practices, boosting verifiable accounting standards, and mitigating sophisticated fraud loopholes. 

When problems arise during the supply chain journey, companies can better pinpoint potential problems rather than trying to painstakingly trace back the source of error with legacy tracking systems. 

Compliance tech: A critical driver for RWAs

Merging tangible assets with digital counterparts demands a strong compliance framework. Consequently, this calls for a unified approach to ensure smooth global acceptance of RWAs – from both the legal and technological aspects.

Proper governance models are crucial when implementing RWA compliance. This can be achieved through a network of validators or a council of trusted members who collaboratively vote in the decision-making aspect of tokenised assets.

By adopting this approach, it heightens the transparency of how RWAs are transacted. Haven1, a purpose-built (EVM compatible) blockchain providing a secure environment for financial transactions, is one such example that empowers businesses with regulatory frameworks that bring in best practices from traditional finance. Equipped with the right governance tools, auditors and regulators gain improved access to data surrounding RWAs, streamlining enterprise-scale compliance efforts.

Unlocking this potential means deepening cross-jurisdictional communication among regulators. Beyond just dialogues, it involves shared regulatory workshops, collaborative sandboxes for testing products across borders, and education geared towards regulators. A unified digital platform for worldwide regulators could further streamline these interactions, ensuring a cohesive approach to RWAs.

Major shifts in global asset liquidity

RWAs are likely to play a pivotal role for enterprise businesses and their end customers. 

For businesses, RWAs are forecasted to provide operational efficiencies, open up new revenue avenues, and foster seamless global collaborations. Traditional sectors will likely witness rejuvenation as tokenisation strategies introduce novel means of asset management and trade.

Also Read: Early-stage proptech and contech investing: Who gets the VC checks?

On the consumer side, the implications are equally profound. RWAs could democratise asset ownership, allowing more individuals to tap into micro-investment opportunities that were once out of reach. This means that an array of assets, including fractionalised property or rare precious metals, could become more accessible – and hence liquid.

While the benefits are manifold, the intersection of traditional and digital assets also brings forth questions about emerging market dynamics and the practical synergy between the two realms. 

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

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Dear reader,

Investors in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, are reportedly considering legal action against the company’s board following the abrupt removal of CEO Sam Altman, which has triggered concerns about a potential mass employee exodus.

These investors, who fear substantial financial losses, are consulting legal advisers to explore their options, although it remains uncertain whether they will proceed with a lawsuit. The situation escalated after Altman’s dismissal on the grounds of a “breakdown of communications,” leading over 700 employees to threaten resignation unless the board was replaced.

OpenAI’s unique structure, with Microsoft holding 49% and employees controlling 49%, poses challenges for traditional investor influence. The nonprofit parent company, OpenAI Nonprofit, was designed to prioritise humanity over investor interests. Legal experts note that nonprofit boards have obligations, but the structure provides considerable leeway for leadership decisions.

Even if investors pursue legal action, the case is perceived as weak, as companies typically enjoy broad latitude in making business decisions. OpenAI’s unconventional structure, established in 2019, seeks to balance capital raising while maintaining its core mission and governance.

The unfolding scenario highlights the intricate dynamics within organisations navigating the intersection of technology, finance, and mission-driven objectives.

Sainul,
Editor.
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Funding for Philippine startups sees 40% decline in 2023: report
The Gobi-Core Philippine Fund report also featured a survey involving 33 founders with running startups in the Seed to Series C stages; Around half of their startups have hit breakeven, taking an average of four years to achieve the feat.

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Image credit: Wikipedia.

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As the use of GenAI tools becomes more widespread, with its potential to be used in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, Myanmar-based startup Base Technology is making waves with its generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) solution Magicsnap.

This technology aims to transform consumer engagement and create personalised experiences that set brands apart in an increasingly competitive market.

Swan Htet Aung, Managing Director of Base Technology, in an email interview with e27, sheds light on the company’s mission, stating, “Consumer engagement is getting more challenging and expensive, as brands compete for a share of consumers’ attention in an increasingly fragmented world. To achieve top-of-mind brand recall, marketers are turning to GenAI. GenAI technology’s ability to generate content from simple text prompts and other visuals enables marketers to deliver new consumer experiences.”

According to Gartner, 63 per cent of marketing leaders plan to invest in GenAI in the next 24 months, and Base Technology aims to be at the forefront of this trend. Their flagship product Magicsnap is a GenAI-powered solution that allows customers to generate AI avatars from a single selfie effortlessly. This technology goes beyond basic online interactions, turning customers into brand ambassadors in different virtual worlds, such as historical, anime, and Hollywood settings.

What sets Magicsnap apart is its unique training dataset. Unlike other image AI models trained with generic stock footage, the company said that Magicsnap’s image AI model was trained with 200,000 images from Southeast Asia (SEA).

Also Read: How Transparently.AI uses Artificial Intelligence to detect accounting manipulation, fraud

This approach enables the system to identify cultural nuances, including traditional outfits and facial features, making it culturally representative and sensitive to end-consumers. Magicsnap has generated around 100,000 traditional outfits for 40,000 people, demonstrating its ability to cater to diverse cultural preferences.

Aung shares an example of a successful campaign where customers could leverage Magicsnap to select a suitable traditional outfit based on their facial features and the nature of the event they intended to attend. The GenAI model successfully matched customers with Burmese and Cambodian traditional outfits, bringing delight to the clients’ customers and showcasing the technology’s versatility.

Since its launch in 2016, Base Technology has developed two successful products – Expa.AI, a large language model for building chatbots, and Magicsnap. The company has empowered over 1,000 small businesses and more than 30 enterprises in SEA, engaging more than four million customers through 100 million conversations.

Aung states, “This generates billions of data points, and we are working to migrate our data to AWS to leverage AWS’s broad portfolio of storage solutions for its reliability, security, and performance.”

Magicsnap alone has generated more than US$40,000 in revenue within the first two months of its launch in July 2023. Aung notes the cost efficiency achieved since migrating to AWS and mentions ongoing collaborations with brands in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

Also Read: These Artificial Intelligence startups are proving to be industry game-changers

Base Technology’s collaboration with AWS has been instrumental in their success. Aung how AWS SageMaker has enabled faster fine-tuning of diffusion models by 30 per cent and reduced the cost of inference by 40 per cent. This efficiency allows Base Technology to bring solutions to market swiftly and cost-effectively.

The company also benefited from the AWS GenAI Reactor program, receiving AWS credits and mentorship on generative AI from industry experts.

Looking ahead, Base Technology aims to roll out the first-ever multimodal model trained with major SEA languages in 2024.

Aung emphasises the importance of supporting local languages for businesses in the region, stating, “For domestic companies building GenAI applications for their business in SEA, an English-only multimodal model wouldn’t help to give them the right head start. Businesses cannot use one model for all.”

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Image Credit: Base Technology / Magicsnap

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Turn Capital, the family office of 17LIVE’s co-founder and non-executive chairman Joseph Phua, has acquired the Thai business of the tech-enabled coffee chain Flash Coffee, a source privy to the development told e27.

The transaction details are not known.

Turn Capital plans to expand Flash Coffee’s presence across Thailand, with a plan to open more than 100 new stores in the next two years, as per a statement. This will bring the total number of locations in the country to over 200.

Also Read: ‘Companies shut down not because of crises but only when founders give up’: Joseph Phua of M17

Launched in 2020, Flash Coffee serves a menu of quality drinks curated by World Barista Champions across Asia. Customers can use the Flash Coffee app to order and pay online, choose to pick up orders from one of its yellow storefronts, or order for delivery through the app or major delivery platforms in each market.

The coffee chain operates over 200 stores in four markets across Asia Pacific — Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

Last month, it was reported that the company shut down all 11 stores across Singapore to “further consolidate” future efforts on fewer markets as it aims to build a profitable and sustainable business.

In May this year, Flash Coffee announced the completion of its US$50 million Series B financing round led by White Star Capital. Existing investors, including White Star Capital, Delivery Hero, Geschwister Oetker, and Conny & Co, participated in the round.

Turn Capital invests in consumer, technology, media and telecom companies across Asia. The firm typically acquires controlling stakes, which allows its team of experienced operators and investors to take a hands-on approach to each investment.

According to Shang Koo, Partner of Turn Capital, the invest will partner with Flash Coffee’s management team to bring the tech-driven brand to profitability and grow the company over the next few years.

Also Read: Joseph Phua’s Turn Capital acquires Dapp Pocket to create SEA-focused retail crypto exchange

Turn Capital was launched in 2020 by Joseph Phua, former CEO of 17LIVE, where he built the business from US$2 million annual revenue to over US$400 million in annual revenues, and a market leader in Japan and Taiwan. He ran Turn Capital’s unique investment strategy and controlled a portfolio of companies in the technology and consumer sectors with a combined valuation of over US$1 billion.

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Image Credit: Flash Coffee.

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