A “significant” investment in property data and AI business Propic sees ACM boss Antony Catalano drive further into the core real estate business he knows best.

The former chief executive of Domain – now a Nine subsidiary – continues to position Australian Community Media and Realestateview.com.au as strong rivals to his former employer.

Propic is in a period of aggressive growth after developing two products which provide real time property market intelligence to ACM and its property industry clients.

In a statement today, ACM added that Propic – founded by former Domain executive Jeff Grey – could also aid “the broader group of companies that Antony and partner Alex Waislitz have invested in.”

Catalano says the investment “continues our commitment to grow and evolve as emerging technologies prove their value”, adding that they can see a range of strategic and operational applications for the “two compelling products”.

“Their use of AI is first class and it provides an understanding of vendor propensity we’ve not seen before. This will help us understand the property market broadly but also at a granular level when looking at shifting trends of both buyer and vendor behaviour.”

The deal is through Catalano and Waislitz’  real estate digital media investment vehicle IMP, which also holds the equity in realestateview.com.au, and follows additional investments in other prop-tech start ups.

Propic chief executive Jeff Gray was “excited by the investment and support of Antony and Alex.

“This funding will see a significant scale-up in the business, proving Australia can lead in the technology space. We genuinely believe our solutions will become ubiquitous, transforming the customer and agent experience here and overseas."

Propic offers the clients the opportunity to support their contacts with predictions, using AI to predict which properties and contacts are most likely to want appraisals and list, “telling you whom to contact and when, but also why, and providing the talking points”.