Arda Raises $3M to Revolutionize Real Estate with AI, Blockchain

Arda, a company focused on developing a universal operating system for the real estate sector, has successfully raised $3 million in a pre-seed funding round. This investment was led by Lightshift, a venture firm that specializes in early-stage companies focused on digital infrastructure and programmable assets. The funding will support Arda’s mission to enhance efficiency in the real estate sector, which is valued at $380 trillion but is currently plagued by fragmentation and opacity.

Arda’s platform is designed to unify real estate assets, data, and financial services into a single, interoperable system. By leveraging AI and blockchain technology, the platform aims to streamline real estate transactions, reduce transaction times, and enhance transparency. This is achieved through real-time ownership and financial processes, making the system more efficient and reliable.

The platform introduces a programmable execution layer for real estate, integrating digital rights management, AI-driven automation, and seamless data interoperability. Key features of the platform include digital asset profiles, which provide a verifiable record of property history to streamline due diligence; real-time money movement, which links payments directly to transactions for improved settlement efficiency; and integrated data and automation, which reduces administrative friction in asset management through automated workflows.

Arda was founded by Oli Harris, who previously served as the Managing Director in Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs and the Head of Crypto Assets Strategy at JPMorgan Chase. Harris has a proven track record in the development and commercialization of digital assets, including his role in the creation of Quorum, an enterprise Ethereum platform. His experience also includes board positions at several prominent companies in the digital asset space, such as Anchorage, BitGo, Blockdaemon, and TRM Labs.

“Real estate remains one of the most valuable yet operationally fragmented asset classes,” said Oli Harris, Founder & CEO of Arda. “By creating a programmable, trust-based system, we aim to bring real estate transactions in line with modern digital financial infrastructure.”

As institutional investment in digital assets continues to grow, there is a increasing interest from governments and industry leaders in exploring frameworks for secure, verifiable digital property transactions. This trend is evident in regions around the world, where policymakers are shaping regulations to integrate digital assets into mainstream financial systems.

“We invest in founders who are building the foundations of next-generation industries,” said Simao Cruz, Founding Partner at Lightshift. “Arda is developing purpose-built infrastructure that could redefine how real estate is owned, transacted, and financed.”

Arda’s platform is designed for institutions, enterprises, and governments, enabling digital interoperability, automated transactions, and real-time execution in the global real estate sector. The company is backed by investors who support the evolution of digital real estate infrastructure, aiming to transform the way real estate is managed and transacted.