What Urban Odyssey does

Urban Odyssey is a corporate startup studio, founded in 2019 and headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, that creates, funds and accelerates startups targeting four transitions in real estate and construction: low-carbon building (decarbonization, energy production, renovation), land transition (soil restoration, biodiversity, water, urban intensification), adaptation of buildings to lifestyle changes (coliving, coworking, mixed use, new investment formats), and digital/technology tools serving those transitions. The studio is a wholly-owned SAS subsidiary of Icade, a SBF 120-listed real estate investment company whose reference shareholder is Caisse des Dépôts. Its portfolio comprises 16 active startups (claimed 100% survival rate) including Lokimo (AI/data for land analysis), Imagin'Office (flexible offices), Stock (local carbon compensation), Domani (senior coliving), Vertuo (rainwater recovery), Terrio (earth-construction materials), Terre Utile (excavated earth recovery), High Six (off-site construction), Time to Beem (real-time carbon tracking), Seve Up (BIM data performance), IvyNest (young professional coliving), Ingenium Calor (heat recovery from micro-datacenters), ThermiUp (grey-water heat exchangers), Alohomora (student housing), Korix (intelligent DCE analysis), and Nagomya (depaysing spaces).

Urban Odyssey's product is the studio infrastructure itself, organized as a three-phase program (JOIN for opportunity exploration and validation, SEED for 6-9 month incubation with pre-seed funding averaging €250K per startup, and SCALE for 12-18 month acceleration with potential follow-on seed/Series A). The studio takes 10-20% minority equity stakes (with co-investment from partners such as Banque des Territoires and BpiFrance) and offers portfolio startups access to Icade's expert network, business units, and pilot projects (averaging ~25 business/technical meetings per startup per year and ~50% of first-year startup revenue sourced from Icade projects). It also provides HEC Incubator support, dedicated workspace (Paris Bastille and, since March 2024, Maison Urban in the 12th arrondissement), legal support via Oyat Avocats, and tech advisory via Matters. Revenue accrues indirectly through portfolio equity returns plus coworking membership at €385/workstation/month.

The studio is governed by an investment board comprising four Icade COMEX members (including CEO Nicolas Joly) and four external investor representatives from BpiFrance, Banque des Territoires and an independent investor; operating leadership is led by Nicolas Bellego (Director / Head of Urban Odyssey and Director of Innovation at Icade) supported by a small specialized team covering business, programs, investment, product-market fit, design and AI initiatives. The business does not develop proprietary technology itself; its differentiation is operational infrastructure, expert networks, and the Icade distribution pipe rather than a core technology platform.

Name

Urban Odyssey

Legal name

Urban Odyssey

Website

https://urbanodyssey.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Urban Odyssey is a corporate startup studio, backed by Icade, that creates and accelerates startups addressing four real estate and construction transitions — low-carbon building, land, lifestyle adaptation, and digital — providing pre-seed/seed investment averaging €250K and direct Icade market access.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Studio / Venture Building Services

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Real estate startup studio
• Venture building services
• Construction tech incubation
• Urban transition investing
• Pre-seed startup funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Issy-les-moulineaux

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Investment, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Startup Investment Returns: Urban Odyssey generates returns through equity stakes in portfolio startups. The studio takes minority positions (typically 10-20% for 250K€ pre-seed investments) with the possibility of follow-on seed/Series A investments. Returns are realized through portfolio company exits, though the specific exit timeline and mechanism are not disclosed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Urban Odyssey is a corporate startup studio that creates, funds, and accelerates startups addressing major transitions in real estate and construction: low-carbon building transition, land transition, adapting buildings to new lifestyles, and digital/technology solutions for these transitions. The studio runs a 3-phase program (JOIN, SEED, SCALE) providing pre-seed/seed investments averaging €250K (up to €400K), HEC Incubator access, workspace, and direct market access through its parent company Icade.

Product overview

Urban Odyssey is a startup studio (not a traditional product company) that creates, funds, and accelerates startups addressing four major transitions in real estate and construction: low-carbon building transition, land transition, adapting buildings to lifestyle changes, and digital/tech for these transitions. The portfolio includes 16 startups: Lokimo (AI/data for real estate), Imagin'Office (flexible office spaces), Stock (local carbon compensation), Domani (senior coliving), Vertuo (rainwater recovery via vegetation), Terrio (bio/geosourced materials from excavated earth), Terre Utile (excavated earth recovery), High Six (low-carbon off-site construction), Time to Beem (real-time carbon impact tracking), Seve Up (data-driven real estate performance), IvyNest (young professional coliving), Ingenium Calor (heat recovery from micro-datacenters), ThermiUp (grey water heat recovery), Alohomora (student housing in vacant offices), Korix (intelligent DCE analysis), and TBA (to be announced).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Urban Odyssey Startup Studio Program A structured incubation and acceleration program for entrepreneurs and early-stage startups in real estate and construction, providing funding (avg €250K pre-seed/seed, up to €400K), coaching, business development, expert access via Icade, and HEC Incubator ecosystem support. Targets cofounders with existing projects or those seeking venture ideas.
• Maison Urban Coworking Space Coworking space in Paris operated by Urban Odyssey portfolio startup Nagomya, providing workstation rentals (€385/workstation/month), meeting rooms, and phone booths for the real estate and construction ecosystem, including cleaning, consumables, and WiFi.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average 1M€ revenue per startup by year 2-3
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HEC IncubateurcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIncubation partner providing access to HEC's entrepreneurial ecosystem during the first 6 months of incubation. Benefits include office hours, student network, expert access, and perks for portfolio startups.
• Imagin'OfficeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPortfolio company providing coworking spaces in Paris, Lyon, and Bordeaux. Urban Odyssey offers portfolio startups access to Imagin'Office workspaces as part of the incubation package.
• Oyat AvocatsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLegal partner assisting with capital increases and corporate structuring for portfolio companies.
• Welcome to the JungleminorOthersMutualized HR service providing recruitment platform access for portfolio startups to publish job openings.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Station F: Paris-based world's largest startup campus hosting thousands of founders and dozens of on-site programs. Functions as an ecosystem enabler overlapping with Urban Odyssey's role in supporting French real estate/construction founders; complementary rather than directly competitive.

Direct peers

• Founders Factory: London-based corporate venture studio that builds and scales startups in partnership with major corporates (similar studio model to Urban Odyssey's Icade-backed approach). Operates the same create-and-accelerate model with vertical themes and structured programs.
• High Alpha: US-based corporate venture studio that conceives, launches, and invests in B2B SaaS startups from scratch. Closely comparable operational model to Urban Odyssey, with similar studio-stage investment tickets and structured program phases.
• Antler: Global early-stage VC and startup generator that recruits founders and builds companies from ideation through seed. Comparable in its studio-style approach to creating companies, with structured residency programs analogous to Urban Odyssey's JOIN/SEED/SCALE phases.
• MetaProp: NYC-based proptech VC and accelerator investing in real estate technology startups across the lifecycle. Directly comparable thesis on real estate innovation, though structured as fund-plus-accelerator rather than a corporate-anchored studio.
• Pi Labs: Europe's leading proptech VC fund investing in early-stage real estate technology startups. Directly comparable thesis (real estate innovation) with overlapping deal flow in European proptech, though structured as a traditional VC fund rather than a corporate studio.
• Concrete VC: Venture capital firm focused exclusively on construction technology innovation. Direct overlap with Urban Odyssey's portfolio themes (construction materials, off-site construction, decarbonization) and similar early-stage investment approach.
• Cycle Capital: North American cleantech VC investing in sustainability and decarbonization technologies. Comparable to Urban Odyssey's low-carbon transition thesis (carbon tracking, RE2020-aligned materials, energy recovery startups) with similar early-to-growth stage check sizes.
• JLL Spark: JLL's global proptech investment arm, operating as a corporate venture vehicle investing in real estate technology. Most comparable corporate-backed proptech innovation model, mirroring Urban Odyssey's Icade relationship structure at a larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Bouygues Construction: Major French construction incumbent with established innovation and intrapreneurship programs. Represents a potential second-anchor partner for Urban Odyssey's studio model and a possible competitor for proptech/construction-tech startup partnerships in France.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urban-odyssey

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urban Odyssey