This Research Note examines the technology strategy of JLL, the $26.1B global real estate services firm, investing in startups in the smart buildings space.  We examine the investments of JLL Spark over the past 18 months and highlight their shift in focus, before commenting on their alignment with broader trends in the sector and how they differ from their major competitor, CBRE. Founded in 2017, JLL Spark, the strategic investment arm of JLL, has invested more than $445 million in over 55 early-stage PropTech startups focused on technology such as IoT sensors, AI space planning and visualization, AI-powered building analytics, and IoT platforms for building operations.   JLL is one of the leading investors in smart building startups, and we cover them in the latest edition of our Startups in Smart Buildings report, to be published in July 2026. In the last 18 months, they have shifted focus in two directions: firstly, to companies addressing […]