Grotto AI has raised $10 million in a seed funding round as it focuses on reducing revenue loss caused by vacant rental units. Industry estimates place vacancy-related value loss at nearly $500 billion across the housing market.
The round was led by ICONIQ, marking one of its earliest-stage investments. The firm recently co-led Anthropic’s $30 billion Series G round. Additional participation came from Asymmetric Capital Partners, along with individual advisors and angel investors with experience across residential real estate and property technology.
While many sectors are using artificial intelligence to replace customer-facing roles, Grotto AI is taking a different position. The company is building tools designed to support leasing teams rather than automate them.
Instead of removing human interaction, the platform focuses on improving it. Grotto AI analyzes leasing conversations to identify behaviors that influence revenue outcomes. It then provides real-time prompts and post-call feedback to help agents strengthen rapport, respond to objections, and improve close rates.
The platform is already being used by several large multifamily operators. One of them is Weidner Apartment Homes, which manages more than 70,000 residential units across the United States.
Grotto AI was founded by Nick Deveau and Ben Epstein, both of whom have spent nearly two decades working on applied AI systems across industries such as healthcare, insurance, and hiring.
The founders previously worked together at EvolutionIQ, where they led development of the core technology that contributed to the company’s $730 million acquisition in 2024. Deveau, who trained in artificial intelligence at Stanford University, has led AI product teams delivering enterprise-grade SaaS solutions. Epstein has focused on building machine learning platforms, most recently leading the development of EvolutionIQ’s proprietary large language model infrastructure.
Together, they position Grotto AI as a product-led company with a strong focus on measurable commercial outcomes.
“We had the privilege of working with Nick and Ben at EvolutionIQ and saw firsthand their ability to build and execute world-class B2B vertical AI products,” said Tengbo Li, General Partner at ICONIQ. “What drew us to Grotto AI is that same combination of technical depth and commercial focus. We believe that they’re solving one of the most quantifiable problems in multifamily by driving real, measurable revenue growth. Grotto AI delivers results you can see on a P&L, not just a dashboard.”
Grotto AI’s initial models were developed by a team of statistians and AI researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford. The team analyzed hundreds of thousands of interactions between leasing agents and prospective renters.
The findings suggested that interpersonal signals had a stronger correlation with lease conversion than operational best practices. According to the company’s analysis, agents who initiated moments of laughter were 48% more likely to convert leads. Demonstrating curiosity was linked to a 35% increase in conversions. By contrast, commonly cited actions such as requesting a tour or application were associated with a 14% improvement.
“The industry has it backwards,” Deveau said. “Typically, leads are escalated to humans based on complexity — if they ever reach a human at all. In reality, our data shows that we should actually be escalating to humans when intent and warmth can change the outcome. If 2025 was the year of replacing humans, 2026 is about unlocking what only they can do.”
Grotto AI is an artificial intelligence platform designed to help multifamily operators reduce vacancy-related revenue loss. The company provides real-time guidance and post-interaction coaching to leasing teams, translating conversations into measurable financial outcomes. Its customers include large owners, operators, and developers across the U.S. multifamily market. The company is backed by ICONIQ and Asymmetric Capital Partners.
ICONIQ is a global investment firm focused on venture and growth-stage companies. It supports founders across major inflection points, from early development to public markets. Its portfolio includes companies such as Adyen, Airbnb, Alibaba, Canva, Databricks, Figma, Snowflake, Zoom, and 1Password.
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