Cyprus Real Estate Market Slows in August

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 23, 2024

The Cypriot real estate market showed signs of cooling in August 2024, marking a decline in activity after a period of sustained growth. Data reveals a notable slowdown in transactions, with the overall market experiencing a dip in sales and property transfers compared to previous months. This deceleration comes after a strong first half of the year, which saw robust demand in key regions, especially for high-value properties and new developments.

While the market experienced this summer lull, experts remain cautiously optimistic, noting that this trend aligns with historical patterns, as August is traditionally a quieter month for real estate due to seasonal factors. However, the slowdown also reflects broader economic challenges, including rising interest rates and inflationary pressures, which have begun to affect buyer sentiment and investment decisions.

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Market Trends: The Eight-Month Snapshot

Despite the August slowdown, the real estate market over the first eight months of 2024 has largely been positive. Property sales and transfers increased during the initial part of the year, driven by both domestic and foreign investment. Demand for residential properties remained high, with luxury properties and developments in prime locations—such as Limassol, Paphos, and Nicosia—leading the way.

Data from the Department of Lands and Surveys highlights that, while August saw a reduction in transaction volumes, the overall market remained relatively resilient. The first eight months of the year saw a notable rise in the value of properties sold, suggesting that the high-end property segment continued to perform well. Additionally, certain regions, particularly Limassol and Paphos, managed to retain significant market momentum even during the quieter summer months.

Limassol, a hub for foreign investment and a hotspot for luxury developments, has consistently been one of the strongest-performing regions, attracting both individual buyers and investors seeking rental properties or high-end real estate. Paphos, known for its appeal to foreign retirees and holiday home buyers, also maintained steady demand, particularly from non-EU buyers taking advantage of Cyprus’ attractive property offerings and lifestyle benefits.

Regional Interpretation

While the overall market has slowed, certain regions continue to show resilience. Limassol and Paphos, in particular, remain key players in the market, with these areas seeing the highest levels of foreign interest. Limassol’s status as a business and investment hub, coupled with its array of luxury properties, continues to attract international buyers, particularly from the Middle East, Russia, and Europe.

Paphos also continues to hold strong appeal for foreign buyers, especially retirees and those looking for holiday homes. The district’s affordability compared to Limassol, combined with its high quality of life, makes it a popular choice for non-EU investors, who have been a consistent driver of demand in the region.

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Ramp Raises $1.85 Billion At $60 Billion Valuation

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 16, 2026

Expense management startup Ramp has raised $1.85 billion in a new funding round, valuing the company at $60 billion. The investment comes just four months after Ramp secured $750 million at a $44 billion valuation, marking a sharp increase in its market value.

Revenue And Customer Numbers Continue To Grow

The round was co-led by Dragoneer Investment Group, Thrive Capital, Founders Fund, Sands Capital and Avenir Growth. Ramp said its annualised revenue has surpassed $2 billion, up from $1.5 billion in June, with its growth rate 25% faster than at the same point last year.

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The company now processes more than $275 billion in annualised purchase volume, up 175% year on year. Its customer base has also grown to 85,000, compared with 70,000 in June. Clients include Visa, Uber, Shopify, Robinhood, Anduril, Notion, Cursor and Figma.

From Expense Management To AI-Powered Finance

Ramp has expanded beyond expense management into payments, fraud detection, procurement, vendor management and accounting, positioning itself as a broader financial operations platform.

Artificial intelligence is becoming a central part of that strategy. Ramp has integrated AI agents across procurement, expense management, accounting and budgeting, and recently introduced a corporate credit card designed for AI agents. In August, it entered the model-routing market to help customers manage AI inference costs, token usage and spending.

Earlier this month, the company also launched Glass, a workspace that stores employees’ AI automations, prompts and skills so they can be reused across an organisation.

Investors Back Ramp’s Broader Ambitions

“In just a few years, Ramp has become a much broader financial operations platform, with AI deeply embedded in how the company builds and operates. We believe Ramp is well on its way to becoming one of the defining companies of this era,” said Christian Jensen, a partner at Dragoneer, in a statement.

Other investors participating in the round include Capital International, Fidelity Management & Research Company, T. Rowe Price, D1 Capital Partners, Greenoaks, ICONIQ, GIC, 8VC, 1789 Capital, Alpha Wave Global, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Coatue, D.E. Shaw, Definition Capital, FirstMark, General Catalyst, Generation Investment Management, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Pinegrove Opportunity Partners, Soma Capital and Stripes.

The latest round brings Ramp’s total funding to approximately $5 billion.

Competition Extends Into AI Spending

Ramp’s expanding product range is bringing it into closer competition with Rippling, the HR and payroll software company that has also entered corporate cards, expense management and bill payments. Both are competing for finance-team budgets and a broader role in managing enterprise workflows.

Keith Rabois, an early Ramp investor through Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures, said last month that the company’s ambitions extend beyond this rivalry.

“Ramp is not worried about Rippling,” Rabois said. “We’re going to compete with Anthropic. That’s the goal. I want to be larger and more successful and more important than Anthropic. Ramp is going to be the primary way people manage their token spend, how they optimize it, how they measure ROI, and that will lead us to collide probably with Anthropic in many ways.”

His comments reflect Ramp’s broader ambition to help companies manage not only traditional business expenses but also the costs and returns of AI adoption.

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