33East backs Cyprus

Cyprus-based venture capital firm 33East has invested in Piney, a Cyprus-founded property operations startup that has raised €1.6 million as it expands from Europe into the United States.

33East said Piney’s progress demonstrated what could happen when a founder used Cyprus as a proving ground before taking a business into international markets, highlighting the company’s expansion across five European markets before its recent launch in Miami.

“Nicolas Chrysostomou is a perfect example of what happens when a founder treats Cyprus as a proving ground and is not afraid to go beyond,” 33East said in an online post.

“Five European markets later, Piney has just opened in Miami. 5,000 properties, six countries,” the venture capital firm added.

The investment was made alongside Uni.fund and Venteri Capital, with Uni.fund leading Piney’s latest funding round after having also backed the company in 2024.

Piney’s latest round brings its total funding to date to €2.8 million, following the €1.2 million round led by Uni.fund in December 2024.

33East said it was pleased to be investing alongside Uni.fund, which had again led the round after backing Piney and its founder in 2024, as well as Venteri Capital.

Founded in 2022, Piney provides operational services to managers of short- and mid-term rental properties, combining cleaning and property services with its own technology platform.

The company currently serves more than 5,000 properties across six countries, namely Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, France and the United States.

That represents a substantial increase from the 1,300 properties Piney was managing when it last raised funding in late 2024, meaning its footprint has almost quadrupled in less than two years.

Spain has become Piney’s largest market, with teams operating in Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga, while the company also maintains operations in Greece, Cyprus, Portugal and France.

Its expansion beyond Europe began with the launch of services in Miami, which Piney is using as a starting point for its wider international expansion.

The company said its operating model can reduce the workload faced by property managers by up to 80 per cent, through a combination of in-house cleaning teams, automated scheduling and real-time monitoring.

Rather than operating solely as a conventional cleaning provider, Piney handles a broader operational layer for rental property managers, including cleaning, laundry and linen management, as well as sourcing and placing guest amenities.

These services are coordinated through Piney’s technology platform, which the company said allows it to expand more like a software business than a traditional hospitality operation dependent on a large, hands-on workforce.

The latest funding will be used to strengthen Piney’s position in its existing European markets, accelerate development of its technology platform and support its expansion outside Europe.

A growing focus on artificial intelligence is also becoming central to the company’s operations.

Piney said its platform can now analyse photographs taken by cleaners during property inspections in real time, allowing potential problems to be identified while staff are still at the property rather than after a guest has raised a complaint.

The company plans to incorporate AI into additional parts of its workflow as the technology platform develops.

Piney founder and chief executive Nicolas Chrysostomou said the latest funding was intended to build on the company’s expansion across Europe and take its model into international markets.

“This round is about taking what we’ve proven across Europe and bringing it to the world,” Chrysostomou said.

“In under two years, we’ve almost quadrupled the properties we serve, and our technology, increasingly AI-driven, is what makes that pace possible,” he said.

“Property managers everywhere face the same operational challenges, and with Miami, we’re showing that Piney’s model travels,” Chrysostomou added.

For 33East, the investment reflects the potential for Cyprus-founded businesses to use the domestic market as a launchpad for international growth, with Piney’s progression from its initial European expansion to the US providing an example of that approach.