Caren Maio
About Caren Maio
Caren Maio is a proptech founder based in New York. She founded Nestio, a renter management software company, which became Funnel Leasing. According to a podcast bio, she served as CEO and President of Funnel for 11 years. Funnel was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine's Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America.
In early 2022 she became president and chief strategy officer at Moved, a startup that streamlines multifamily move-in. She was also an entrepreneur in residence at Camber Creek and a RE200 Mentor at MetaProp.
She is now CEO and co-founder of 100 (Get100), a multifamily fraud-prevention platform founded in early 2025. Commercial Observer reported that 100 acquired the fraud-detection fintech Cobblestone in June. She advises NYU's Female Founders Fellowship and sits on the advisory board of Fordham University's Real Estate Institute.
Maio described herself as a budding proptech angel investor in 2022. She said she had made some small angel investments and hoped the checks would get larger over time. She also said investing had helped her learn how to filter deals.
Tracxn lists a seed investment in Synco in May 2023. The round was $5.5M, with MetaProp NYC as a co-investor. Crunchbase counts three personal investments for her. It also lists a Revyse funding round from May 2024 in her activity. Crunchbase does not say how large her own checks were.
Maio was one of the angel investors in Grotto AI's $10M seed round, announced in February 2026. ICONIQ led the round, and Asymmetric Capital Partners took part. Grotto AI builds software for multifamily leasing teams. It analyzes leasing calls and tours and gives agents real-time coaching to convert more leads and reduce vacancy loss.
Grotto named her as an investor alongside Avi Dorfman, co-founder of Compass. Her other public investments in this research were not described as AI companies.
Her public activity centers on proptech and multifamily software, mostly at seed stage and in the United States. She has said she wants to mentor women entrepreneurs in proptech. Her check size, fund size and any formal investment criteria are not public.
- Grotto AI: AI coaching platform for multifamily leasing agents. She invested in the $10M seed round announced in February 2026.
- Synco: Proptech company. Tracxn lists her as an angel in its $5.5M seed round in May 2023.
- Revyse: Vendor intelligence software. Crunchbase lists a May 2024 round in her activity and shows her as an exit.
- Funnel Leasing (formerly Nestio): Leasing and marketing platform she co-founded and led as CEO.
- 100 (Get100): Multifamily fraud-prevention platform she co-founded and leads.
- crunchbase.com/person/caren-maio
- tracxn.com/d/people/caren-maio/__paSYbsPQPa5s0I5I8TtXcpQqHjQa5vweCaZnJ
- commercialobserver.com/2022/02/proptech-caren-maio-moved
- commercialobserver.com/power-series/player/caren-maio
- citybiz.co/article/808422/grotto-ai-raises-10m-seed-round
- pulse2.com/grotto-ai-10-million-seed-funding
- acp.vc/post/turning-vacancy-into-value-announcing-our-investment-in-gr
- grotto.ai/blog/grottoai-raises-usd10m-seed-round-led-by-iconiq
Investing activity
Caren Maio appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $10M. The most recent is Grotto AI (Seed, $10M, Feb 2026).
Caren Maio most often invests alongside Iconiq Capital, Asymmetric Capital Partners and Avi Dorfman, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Caren Maio
Does Caren Maio invest in AI startups?
Yes. She was an angel investor in Grotto AI's $10M seed round in February 2026, which ICONIQ led. Grotto builds AI coaching for multifamily leasing teams.
What is Caren Maio's check size?
It is not public. In 2022 she said she had made small angel investments and hoped the checks would grow.
What companies has Caren Maio founded?
She founded Nestio, which became Funnel Leasing, and she co-founded 100 (Get100). She also served as president of Moved.
What sectors does Caren Maio back as an angel?
Her public investments are in proptech and multifamily software, such as Synco, Revyse and Grotto AI. Tracxn lists her investments as US-based.
How can founders contact Caren Maio?
She is on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/carenmaio and on X as @carenmaio. She does not appear to have a personal website.
Is Caren Maio an angel investor?
Yes. Caren Maio invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Caren Maio invested in?
Caren Maio's AI investments include Grotto AI. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Caren Maio invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Caren Maio has invested at Seed, with a median round of $10M.
Who does Caren Maio co-invest with?
Caren Maio's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Iconiq Capital (1 deal), Asymmetric Capital Partners (1 deal) and Avi Dorfman (1 deal).
How can founders reach Caren Maio?
Founders on Lounge can see Caren Maio's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Caren Maio to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.