SohoAI, an Australian property search startup run by Airtasker co-founder Jonathan Lui, is merging with Inspace, which makes 3D and predictive-intelligence software for commercial property, Startup Daily reported on November 4, 2026. The two companies will sit under a new parent company that has not yet been named.
Lui, SohoAI's co-founder and chief executive, will run the combined business. Justin Liang, Inspace's founder and chief executive, will take a seat on the board. Both brands will keep operating, and the group plans to share AI and data infrastructure across residential property search and commercial property marketing and leasing, according to Startup Daily and Online Marketplaces.
The companies did not disclose the terms of the merger or how ownership of the new parent is split. The new entity also received an investment of undisclosed size led by B Capital, the venture firm co-founded by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, which took a stake in both companies, Online Marketplaces reported.
Two halves of the property market
SohoAI is the residential side. The company is about eight years old and was once pitched as a "Tinder for real estate", Startup Daily reported. It recently relaunched as SohoAI, an AI-first marketplace where people can search for homes for sale or rent, look up sold and leased properties, and ask follow-up questions about suburb prices, rental yields, recent sales and market trends, according to Online Marketplaces. The relaunch also added a digital concierge that books inspections and negotiates with agents.
Inspace works on the commercial side. Its tools help asset managers and leasing agents market, lease and manage office and other commercial buildings. The company says its software supports more than $190 billion in property assets worldwide, with clients including Dexus, Goodman Group and Mirvac, Startup Daily reported. Online Marketplaces said Inspace holds real-time tenancy data covering 70% of Australia's A-grade office space.
“Our primary goal here is to be bigger and better than before, rather than to save money or slash teams.”
The founders and the funding
Lui previously co-founded Airtasker, the odd-jobs marketplace now listed on the ASX. Nearly three years ago he raised A$750,000 (about US$490,000) for his property startup from Singapore's Feedback Ventures at a valuation of more than A$20 million (about US$13 million), and its total funding now exceeds A$8 million (about US$5.2 million), according to Startup Daily.
Liang left AMP Ventures to start the company in 2017 as Inspace XR, SmartCompany reported in 2023. Its first product turned architects' design plans into virtual reality. When commercial property activity slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company changed course and launched virtual inspections for sales and leasing. Within a year of that shift, it said, more than 90% of Australia's tier-one commercial landlords were using it.
Inspace raised A$750,000 (about US$500,000) in 2019 in a round led by Investible, with Artesian, Taronga Group and Sydney Angels taking part. In July 2023 it raised an oversubscribed A$6 million (about US$4 million) round co-led by OIF Ventures and B Capital, with Investible returning, to expand research into AI and predictive insights. At the time the company said subscription revenue had grown 398% over 18 months.
Why the companies are combining
Both companies presented the deal as a way to grow rather than cut costs. "Our primary goal here is to be bigger and better than before, rather than to save money or slash teams," Lui said. He added that the group intends to keep investing in both businesses.
Online Marketplaces reported that the merger is meant to give each business a larger team and more resources, along with shared technology that could support products neither could build alone. Liang said the pace of product development and new feature launches would increase and that this would benefit Inspace's customers. He also pointed to Lui's profile as an Airtasker co-founder and described SohoAI's team as technically strong in AI.
The companies did not say whether any staff will leave or how many people the combined group employs.
A weak housing market
The merger comes as Australia's housing market slows. Property data firm Cotality estimates that national home sales in the three months to October were about 23% lower than a year earlier, after an annual fall of 2.2% in the three months to May, Startup Daily reported. Cotality also found that national dwelling values fell 1.2% in October and are 6.7% below their March peak.
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates for the fifth time in 2026 in the same week, adding to mortgage costs, and property tax changes in the May federal budget have also weighed on demand, according to Startup Daily.
