Pi Labs Research
Investment Thesis
Pi Labs is a London-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2014 by Faisal Butt, built around the belief that the real estate industry is analogue, antiquated, and carbon-intensive, and that today's technology is not yet sufficient to make the built world fit for future generations. The firm backs founders building the digital and sustainable built world of tomorrow, spanning construction, buildings, cities, and the future of work. Pi Labs explicitly positions itself as willing to take on higher-risk, ambitious technology bets rather than incremental proptech plays, and frames itself as a long-term, hands-on partner rather than a passive check-writer.
Sector Focus
Pi Labs invests across four stated verticals:
- Sustainable Construction
- Efficient Buildings & Infrastructure
- Sustainable & Healthy Cities
- Future of Work, Retail & Living
In practice the current portfolio is heavily AI-native: voice and chat AI for property teams (VerbaFlo), autonomous AI agents for trades and field services (Elyos AI), AI agents for hospitality (Conduit), AI due diligence for energy infrastructure investors (Veridue), AI-powered 3D industrial space modeling (Genia), and greenhouse-gas monitoring from space (Airmo). Climate and energy software (Companion.energy, Airmo) sits alongside core proptech and construction-tech.
Stage Focus
Pi Labs invests from Pre-Seed through Series A, plus follow-on reserves, and explicitly aims to be a founder's first institutional investor. Its Growth Programme (an accelerator-style cohort program, 12+ cohorts run to date) sources and supports pre-seed founders ahead of a check.
Check Size
Typical ticket sizes range from £350K to £2M according to the firm's own site. The "Get Funding" page also references a standardized £350K pre-seed program offering for 2026 applicants.
Lead Tendency
Pi Labs positions itself as a lead investor and first institutional check for most of its portfolio, consistent with its stated ambition to be a long-term, hands-on partner rather than a syndicate follower.
Recent Activity
Fund IV is actively deploying and raising in parallel. In July 2026, Balfour Beatty (the international infrastructure group) made a £10M strategic investment in Pi Labs' Fund IV as a cornerstone investor at first close, alongside dar ventures joining as a strategic investor. In June 2026, Fund IV made its sixth investment into Companion.energy, a Belgium-based AI startup building energy management software for complex environments. Fund III, closed in March 2022 at $90M, backs the current pre-seed-to-Series-A book alongside Fund IV.
Portfolio Highlights
Since inception in 2015, Pi Labs has made roughly 100 investments across 15 countries over three funds, with 19 exits to date. Notable current and recent portfolio companies include Plentific (property operations software, Series C), Qualis Flow (construction decarbonization software, Series A), Elyos AI (autonomous field-service agents, Series A), LandTech (UK proptech), VerbaFlo, Conduit, Companion.energy, Veridue, Kestrix, Firmus, Kertos, and Airmo. The firm highlights ~90 companies invested in and a 400+ person ecosystem of founders, mentors, co-investors, LPs, and Venture Partners.
Team
- Faisal Butt — Managing Partner & Founder
- Stefania Ponzo — Partner (non-governing)
- Michael Murad — Partner and Director
- Hugo Silva — Partner (non-governing)
- Michelle Wilk — Principal
- Dhruv Gupta — Principal
- Juliet Kerr — Investment Associate
- Gaurav Bassan — Head of Finance
The firm also maintains a bench of Venture Partners (including Colman Stephenson of Rematch, Phil Cowans of Nested.com, and James Pellatt of Digital Trees) and a formal Board/IC that includes external members such as Mike Bristow (CEO, CrowdProperty) as a Fund III IC member, plus board directors and observers from strategic LPs RevCap, Prestbury, and Värde.
Decision Process
Investment decisions run through a partnership structure with a dedicated Fund III Investment Committee that includes external members, plus board directors and observers drawn from strategic LPs. This points to a partnership/IC-style process rather than a solo-GP model, with board seats typically taken on portfolio companies.
Founder Preferences
Pi Labs favors technical and domain-expert founders tackling structural inefficiencies in the built environment — construction, energy, cities, and the future of work — with a stated willingness to back ambitious, higher-risk technology bets rather than incremental proptech. The firm markets itself as a long-term, hands-on partner offering sector expertise and access to its global ecosystem of 400+ founders, mentors, co-investors, LPs, and Venture Partners, and runs an active Growth Programme for earlier-stage founders that has helped 63+ companies raise over $200M to date.
Geographic Focus
Headquartered in London (33 Broadwick Street), investing globally with a stated footprint across 15 countries. Site materials show particular current emphasis on Europe and the UK, with expanding interest in North America and MENA proptech markets. Fund IV is explicitly aimed at scaling startups globally from the UK, Europe, and North America.