As pressure builds across commercial real estate to move faster and operate with greater precision, the Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation (CRETI) has introduced its latest Foundations cohort. The group brings together a set of early-stage companies focused on improving how decisions get made across diligence, leasing, and deal execution.
“Markets like this reward precision,” said Ashkan Zandieh, president and head of platform at CRETI. “The next phase of proptech will come from systems that help teams make better decisions earlier, with clearer information and fewer blind spots.”
The latest Foundations group includes four companies approaching the market from different angles but sharing a focus on improving how work actually gets done,
Brixely— Led by CEO and Co-Founder Varinder Saini, Brixely focuses on due diligence for institutional commercial real estate funds and transaction teams. The platform helps teams evaluate assets earlier in the process, apply consistent underwriting standards, and identify potential risks before capital is committed. More than $1 billion in transactions have run through the platform across asset classes, including data centers, retail, medical office and high-rise properties.
CenterCheck — Founded by CEO and Co-Founder Carter Russ, CenterCheck is focused on one of retail real estate’s longest-standing blind spots: reliable store-level sales data. The platform provides detailed visibility into sales performance, shopper demographics and transaction behavior across stores, malls and shopping centers. That level of clarity allows owners and operators to better understand tenant productivity and make more informed leasing and portfolio decisions.
Dan AI — Led by CEO and Founder Josh Siegelman, Dan AI is focused on improving how leasing professionals source and close deals, particularly in the retail sector. The platform combines proprietary data with workflow tools to support tenant matchmaking and modernize brokerage processes, helping teams identify opportunities and move assignments forward more efficiently.
Tower — Co-founded by Noah Walters, Tower is built for CRE deal teams managing complex diligence processes. The platform provides a centralized, collaborative workspace that replaces fragmented workflows across emails, spreadsheets, and data rooms. By automatically organizing documents, grouping related materials, and identifying missing or incomplete information, Tower transforms messy deal inputs into a structured, reliable source of truth, enabling more accurate analysis, stronger team alignment and faster deal timelines.
CRETI’s Foundations program connects founders with operators, investors, and decision-makers across the industry. The goal is not just exposure, but alignment — helping companies build products that fit into real workflows and solve real problems.
