Photo by Denis Voronin / Agency “Moskva”
Yandex is investing in PropTech — technologies for the digitalization of residential real estate. According to Forbes, the company has acquired Domiland, a platform offering technological solutions for developers and property management companies, from the Samolet Group. This acquisition aims to strengthen Yandex’s urban ecosystem. Experts estimate the transaction value between 300 million and 675 million rubles and believe the acquisition will give Yandex a strategic infrastructure foothold in residential real estate — a sector with high digitalization potential.
“In synergy with the ecosystem”
Yandex confirmed the acquisition of Domiland — a tech platform for developers and property managers — to Forbes, with Domiland also verifying the deal. The partnership expects to expand resident-focused services by leveraging Yandex’s technologies in fintech, delivery, ride-hailing, e-commerce, smart home, and Domiland’s expertise in residential digitalization.
The Domiland team, led by co-founder and CEO Darya Voronova, will join Yandex and continue operations under the Domiland brand. Product development will be integrated with Yandex’s ecosystem, allowing the launch of new digital services for residents, developers, and property managers, enhancing comfort in residential complexes. All existing Domiland partnerships and client arrangements will remain unchanged.
Yandex will fully consolidate all Domiland assets, including its core IT platform and joint projects previously developed with Samolet. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Founded in April 2017 by Kirill and Darya Voronov, Domiland currently offers 30 SaaS-based products. These include services for automating emergency dispatch centers, homeowner meetings, utility billing, as well as smart systems for residents (video surveillance, intercom and elevator controls, parking and access management, smart charging stations), media services, and more. Over 1 million residents use Domiland’s IT solutions. Clients include major developers such as Samolet, Donstroy, A101, Brusnika, MR Group, Level Group, Vesper, among others. According to Domiland, over 90% of its revenue comes from recurring subscription payments by developers and property managers, with 600 organizations using the platform.
In 2024, Domiland LLC’s revenue grew 184% to 225 million rubles, with net profit rising 47% to 73 million rubles, according to Rusprofile. The company’s founder, as listed in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (EGRUL), is LLC “Client Service”, of which 75.68% was owned by Samolet-Reserve LLC, 14.05% by Darya Voronova, and 10.27% by Kirill Voronov.
Samolet Group acquired 76% of “Client Service” — then owned by VTB-affiliated structures — in January 2025. However, the group decided to exit the asset just a few months later. “Samolet Group is transferring this asset to the absolute leader in the IT market as part of Domiland’s platform development strategy,” Samolet Group CEO Anna Akinshina told Forbes. “We are interested in a highly technological and customer-oriented partner for daily services in our residential complexes. We are confident that Yandex will take the platform to a whole new level in record time.”
A Growing Market
Yandex is not the only major player targeting the PropTech sector. Other companies developing PropTech initiatives include Veon (Beeline Home), MTS (VDome), and Rostelecom (Klyuch).
“The housing and utilities sector, including property management companies (PMCs), is one of the most consumer-facing segments,” says Ilya Sotonin, CEO of Doma.ai. “PMCs serve homes where people spend most of their lives. Through PMCs and their digital services, ecosystems gain deeper insights into users’ daily needs, enabling personalized offerings, additional services, and new revenue opportunities,” he explains. The involvement of major ecosystem players like Yandex “stimulates digital innovation, intensifies competition, and improves services for residents and property managers,” Sotonin adds.
Russia’s PropTech sector is on the rise: according to BusinesStat, the market grew by 56% from 25 billion to 39 billion rubles between 2019 and 2023. PropTech in Russia has shown steady growth over the past five years and is likely to continue, says Sergey Nunuparov, Managing Director of PSK-Solutions. This trend is largely driven by sustained new housing construction, which often includes digital services for residents, and the broader momentum toward digital transformation — which inevitably includes residential real estate.
“Significant expansion potential”
Domiland is among the most mature and recognizable players in the PropTech space, with a clear business model, extensive reach, and major clients, notes Dmitry Kozlov, founder of investment firm The12 Capital. It is a B2B2C platform connecting developers, property managers, and end users. Domiland offers white-label solutions for digitizing the entire resident journey post-handover. Several hundred PMCs are connected to the platform, while the total number in Russia is several tens of thousands, leaving ample room for expansion, says Kozlov. He sees the real value of the deal not in service monetization, but in the synergy and platform’s potential as an infrastructure entry point into residential real estate.
For Yandex, Domiland becomes a “gateway” to a new business segment — urban residential infrastructure with strong digitalization potential. With Russia’s largest urban vertical ecosystem, Yandex gains “vast opportunities” for testing new formats, developing niche services, and leveraging Big Data. Through this segment, Yandex can influence resident behavior, personalize offerings, and enhance conversion rates across other products, Kozlov adds.
“Software sector multiples traditionally remain high and vary widely depending on the company’s development stage, market outlook, geography, and other factors,” explains Sergey Nunuparov. “In Western markets, median EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA multiples for PropTech companies are about 6x and 22x, respectively, which theoretically values the business above 1 billion rubles.” However, considering regional specifics, the final valuation may be significantly lower — in the 300–600 million rubles range for 100% enterprise value.
“Given that the founders had long been seeking a buyer, and Samolet, as an institutional investor, decided to exit to focus on its core business, we estimate Domiland’s enterprise value (EV) at 6–8 times EBITDA, or about three times revenue (i.e., up to 675 million rubles),” says Kozlov.
PropTech continues to grow rapidly, closely linked to real estate development and utilities digitalization. Any digital solutions related to urban infrastructure, mobile apps, and SaaS are of strategic interest to Yandex as a key big tech company in Russia, Kozlov notes, citing Alibaba’s City Brain smart city initiative in China as an international parallel.
According to Ilya Sotonin, Yandex’s choice of Domiland is well-justified: “It has strong ties with Moscow-based developers, allowing for interesting integrations in modern residential complexes populated by active users.” Furthermore, Domiland has emphasized a B2C approach and direct user engagement from the outset — a strategy that aligns well with the logic of ecosystem service development. Yandex is actively exploring the development market for integrating its smart devices, and this acquisition opens up numerous opportunities in that space, Sotonin concludes.
Roman Rozhkov