HqO Raises $6M in Funding as Demand for Tenant Experience Software Accelerates

Key business leaders join the roster of investors backing the tenant experience movement frontrunner

 May 31, 2019 - Boston, MA -HqO, a tenant experience (TeX) platform for commercial real estate, today announced it raised $6M in funding from some of the biggest names in business in Boston, real estate, and beyond:

• Steve Pagliuca, co-owner of the Boston Celtics, and co-chair of Bain Capital, a leading global private investment firm with over $105 billion in assets under management.
• Gerald Chan, co-founder of Morningside Group, a diversified investment group engaged in private equity and venture capital investments in North America, Asia and Europe.
• MikeGordon, partner for the Boston Red Sox and president of Fenway Sports Group, one of the largest sports, media and entertainment companies in the world.
• Sam Kennedy, president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, and CEO of Fenway Sports Management, a sports marketing and sales agency that is a sister company to the Red Sox under the Fenway Sports Group family.
• New England Development, a real estate developer and management company with more than 52 million square feet of retail, commercial, residential, and hospitality space to its credit.
• Goodwin, a leading global law firm that recently launched a PropTech Initiativewhich is designed not only to contribute an active dialogue in this dynamic sector but to help clients explore ways of succeeding in this progressive market.
• DivcoWest, a vertically-integrated owner, operator, developer and real estate partner to the innovation economy, having acquired more than 42M square feet of space since inception, and a return HqO investor.
• Allegion Ventures, a $50 million corporate venture fund of Allegion plcformed to accelerate the growth of innovative technologies and products that facilitate seamless access and people flow.

As a differentiated tenant experience emerges as a requirement for commercial real estate to stay competitive, the leading owners and operators are turning to mobile software for tenants – in part for its potential to arm organizations with transformational data about key aspects of their property that affect the people who occupy it every day.

In less than two years, HqO has emerged as a leader in the space, launching its software in 20 million square feet of office buildings, inking deals with owners like Blackstone’s EQ Office, Jamestown, DivcoWest, National Development, and others, and securing funding from some of the top investors in tech and real estate, such as Accomplice, JLL Spark, Navitas Capital, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, MetaProp, Jamestown, and others.  This new capital will be used to scale the team and hire across all departments, open new offices, and to explore M&A opportunities in international markets.

HqO works with office owners to emphasize the property experience and to collect data on tenant satisfaction with software at their assets:

• Driving commerce onsite with functionality to promote in-app purchases at on-site retailers or service providers, such as ordering coffee or lunch ahead of time, paying for event tickets, donating to charity, purchasing parking passes, and more.
• Building community with tenants by sharing insights and alerts to the real-world experiences happening at the property, such as events, fitness classes, charitable causes, and more.
• Sharing contentand information with tenants so they are always up to date on everything happening at the property, including public transit updates, promotions at nearby retailers, security protocol, maintenance updates, and more.
• Providing controlaround any aspect of access and entry to the building, parking garages, amenity floors, conference rooms, fitness centers, and more.

HqO has experienced record-breaking momentum and growth in 2019 alone, deploying its tenant experience software in millions of square feet of real estate, in some of the country’s most iconic commercial assets and office towers, such as the Willis Tower in Chicago, owned & operated by Blackstone’s EQ Office.

“Since day one, our focus and commitment has been to help landlords create places people love with software,” said Chase Garbarino, CEO and co-founder of HqO. “Every day, the HqO team works incredibly hard to create the software layer for the built environment and it’s incredibly encouraging to receive the support of some of the most renowned business leaders and investors in the world.”

The HqO team is growing rapidly, looking for talented additions to the team in product, engineering, sales, marketing, success, and operations, in Boston, New York City, and London. To learn more about the company and career opportunities, visit www.hqo.co.

About HqO
HqO is a tenant experience platform that enables landlords to create places people love. Headquartered in Boston, HqO partners with the leading landlords, property managers, and brokers who want to attract innovative tenants, provide a premium experience, and increase overall asset value. For more information, visithttps://www.HqO.coor follow HqO on Twitter@HqOapp.