This article was written by Daphne Tomlinson, Senior Research Associate at Memoori. Startups in the building automation space are being cultivated by commercial building stakeholders to bring agility and speed to their innovation initiatives. In addition to in-house venture capital funding of startups, the major players in the commercial building space are setting up or engaging with 3rd party incubators and accelerators to advance their respective positions in the digital transformation of the commercial real estate sector. The main stakeholders in the commercial building space include building technology vendors, energy service companies and real estate service firms looking to complement their expertise in software and solution development with innovative solutions developed by startups, as digital transformation of the built environment takes hold. The energy firms, are also looking beyond the present horizon of their core business at future business models which startups are promulgating as early adopters. For new entrants, the opportunity to develop ideas, […]