Malina VC and Maria Andreeva increased their stakes in Russian startup Puzzle PropTech

At the same time, Igor Gonchar, who owned 4%, left the project, and founder and CEO Alexey Gorulev reduced his stake from 51% to 46.35%.

As Anton Pronin, managing partner of Malina VC and founder of venture firm TheQube.vc, explained to RB.RU, the shares were increased by implementing the existing option.

“We had some kind of option to buy a share and we decided to exercise it. We believe in the growth of the company, there are certain results,” said Anton Pronin.

“To date, the volume of investments attracted by the startup is 45 million rubles, taking into account the first check from Malina VC and investments from a specialized angel Maria Andreeva. Prior to that, about 25 million of own funds and borrowed funds from the founders were invested in the development,” Alexey Gorulev, founder and CEO of Puzzle PropTech, told RB.RU.

In April, Puzzle PropTech raised 42 million rubles in a seed round of investments. The main investor was the Malina VC fund, whose share in the round amounted to 21 million rubles.

According to Gorulev, the current changes in the ownership structure are related to preparations for a new investment agreement, which the company may announce as early as September.

“Based on the results that the company showed in the period from April to July 2024, Malina VC decided, firstly, to additionally capitalize us and, secondly, to increase its stake in Puzzle PropTech by offering to buy out part of the founders’ shares. Unfortunately, Igor Gonchar has recently been unable to actively participate in the company’s work and has agreed to leave altogether,” Gorulev explained.

The founder added that due to changes in legislation relating to preferential mortgage loans for private homes and the introduction of tools for agreements with contractors through “escrow accounts”, the sector in which the company operates has “slowed down a little”, but new opportunities have opened up.

• Freedom Finance Global analysts estimated the approximate cost of the startup at 210-230 million rubles, taking into account inflation.
• In April, it was reported that Puzzle PropTech was developing an AI virtual assistant for mortgage lending and housing construction. The solution, in particular, uses AI algorithms and models to perform digital analysis of estimates, prepare conclusions on credit underwriting and digital support of construction.
• In 2023, the company invested over 21 million rubles in the development of digital mortgage services, AI-based assessment of the estimated cost of housing construction, and online construction insurance.
• Puzzle PropTech already works with mortgages for housing construction from Rosbank, VTB, Post Bank and Gazprombank, and sells insurance for housing construction online with the VSK insurance company.
• The startup is managed by Puzzle Proptech LLC, a legal entity registered in St. Petersburg. The main founder of the legal entity is Alexey Gorulev, who holds the position of the company’s general director.