The Halo Effect: Meet the man with £230m to invest in tech over next three years

Plus, the EG Tech Awards shortlist revealed and Lendlease’s Kat Hanna on data in this week’s tech news round-up. Last week was a big one for EG’s tech and innovation arm as we announced the shortlist for this year’s EG Tech Awards in September. With more entries than ever before, our shortlisted companies, organisations and individuals represent the best of the best in tech and real estate at a time when a drive for change has never been more important. After a hugely successful day of virtual judging sessions, the EG Tech Awards 2020 on 10 September will also get the virtual treatment. But forget a grainy Zoom call with a dodgy background. Guests can look forward to a suitably high-tech, immersive experience. So make sure those connections are fired up and put the champagne on ice. Find out more and see the full shortlist >> For some more positive news around real estate tech – and tech investment more specifically – our interview with A/O Proptech founder Gregory Dewerpe is well worth a read. The Swiss financier officially launched his proptech venture capital firm, complete with a €250m (£224m) fund, in February this year. But Dewerpe insists it was not a case of bad timing as A/O PropTech – which is the largest fund of its kind in Europe and one of the biggest in the world – is poised to make long-term investments over the next three years. Read more >> Following on from the launch of our building data podcast series like week, Lendlease’s Kat Hanna pens a comment piece for us this week on why real estate owes it to itself – and its customers – to ask why it should collect, analyse and deploy data responsibly. Read more >> On the subject of our building data series, make sure you have 2 July marked in your diary for the second instalment as Google Maps’ Ed Parsons and the Real Estate Data Foundation’s Dan Hughes join us to discuss the complexities of data ethics. Also this week, PiLabs assembles an expert advisory panel and how Covid-19 is accelerating proptech. For more of EG’s tech and innovation content visit www.egi.co.uk/halo   To send feedback, e-mail emily.wright@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmilyW_9 or @estatesgazette