MTR Lab invests in WeMaintain in first overseas foray, to help French proptech firm expand in Asia-Pacific

By supporting WeMaintain, MTR Lab hopes to contribute to the ‘development and adoption of smart-city solutions in Asia-Pacific’, Managing Director Michael Chan says

French start-up is ‘thrilled’ to leverage the expertise and support of MTR Lab: CEO

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MTR Lab’s Michael Chan with Benoit Dupont, the co-founder and CEO of WeMaintain. Photo: Handout

Published: 3:45pm, 13 Dec 2023Updated: 3:49pm, 13 Dec 2023

MTR Lab has invested in French proptech company WeMaintain to support its expansion in the Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific markets.

WeMaintain’s proprietary technology provides asset owners and operators with real-time information that helps them reduce their costs and energy consumption and improve the performance of their equipment.

The investment by the subsidiary of Hong Kong’s railway operator will allow WeMaintain to improve the quality of lift and escalator maintenance with Internet of Things (IoT) technology and to power greener city development across Asia-Pacific, according to a joint statement on Wednesday. MTR Lab did not disclose the size of its investment.

“WeMaintain’s vision to advance how people and technology come together to manage buildings, and its efforts in fostering more efficient, predictive and sustainable infrastructure solutions, strongly align with MTR Lab’s goal of promoting smart-city development,” said Michael Chan, MTR Lab’s managing director.

“By supporting the company’s expansion and enabling it to extend its industry-leading maintenance solutions across borders, we hope to contribute to the development and adoption of smart-city solutions in Asia-Pacific and help improve the region’s building operations sector in an efficient and sustainable way.”

WeMaintain is MTR Lab’s first foray into investing in an overseas start-up. The investment aligns with MTR Lab’s focus on smart-city technology and sustainability, as well as the Hong Kong government’s policy direction of encouraging the introduction of smart technologies in housing estate management, including through the digitalisation of lift maintenance and building operations, the joint statement said.