$1B Altman-Backed Internet Infrastructure Firm Buys WiredScore
An internet networking infrastructure company backed by some of the world’s biggest technology, venture capital and property firms has bought real estate digital certification company WiredScore.
Meter has completed a deal to acquire WiredScore, which provides connectivity and smart building certification to more than 1,000 landlords in 42 countries covering a combined 1B SF of real estate.
Meter is a fast-growing firm that aims to simplify and improve the “plumbing” that provides internet, WiFi and cellular connectivity to buildings.
The deal gives it access to a high-profile real estate startup’s network of contacts with property owners across the world.
“From Meter’s perspective, they're ambitious to grow across America and then across the world,” WiredScore CEO William Newton told Bisnow in an interview.
“So in their search to partner more effectively with real estate organizations, they were looking for an organization who already knows how real estate thinks, already engages with the real estate players who understand that digital connectivity can be a differentiator in the leasing process.”
San Francisco-based Meter was founded in 2015 by brothers Sunil and Anil Varanasi. It is a vertically integrated enterprise-grade network company, meaning it provides the hardware, software and tech support to building owners and tenants that make the internet work.
At the moment, different companies provide different parts of that service, and Meter is hoping to disrupt the market by providing everything in one place, having occupiers deal with a single company and pay a single fee, as they would for a utility like water or electricity.
It has been working with landlords to install its systems in vacant space at a loss, betting that tenants will then pay to use its hardware and services when they move in.
The company in June raised $170M in Series C funding from investors including OpenAI founder Sam Altman, Microsoft, VC firm Sequoia Capital, JPMorgan Chase and Tishman Speyer. The fundraising valued the company at $1B.
“Digital infrastructure is now as fundamental to a building's value as its physical construction. WiredScore has spent over a decade defining what great looks like in this space,” Meter co-founder and CEO Anil Varanasi said in a statement. “Bringing their standards, relationships, and global reach together with our infrastructure gives us the platform to scale connectivity in real estate worldwide.”
The acquisition marks Meter's expansion into Europe, including a new London office.
WiredScore was founded in 2013 and raised $15M of Series B capital in 2022. Its investors include VC firm Beringea, proptech VC firm Fifth Wall, Cushman & Wakefield and Crow Holdings.
“This allows us to grow our certification program and push it even further and faster,” Newton said.
He said Meter collects unique data that will provide WiredScore’s clients with even greater insights into their connectivity.
“By working with what I believe will be the most significant networking company over the next 25 years, we can move further and faster than we ever could have if we were on our own,” Newton said.
