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How Olivia Ramos and Deepblocks Are Redefining Site Selection with AI-Driven Zoning Data
In today’s fast-moving real estate landscape, where speed, data, and precision are everything, Olivia Ramos is leading a quiet revolution—one zoning code at a time. As Founder and CEO of Deepblocks, Ramos has created one of the most powerful tools for real estate development site selection: a digitized zoning and feasibility analysis platform that can filter thousands of parcels in minutes.
Her company recently took home top honors at the NAHREP REACH Labs Innovation Showcase, hosted by the Hispanic Wealth Project during the 2023 L’ATTITUDE conference. Deepblocks was selected by a panel of industry experts and a live audience as the most innovative startup in the real estate sector. The reason? It brings zoning—the most opaque and manual step in development—into the digital age.
Her company recently took home top honors at the NAHREP REACH Labs Innovation Showcase, hosted by the Hispanic Wealth Project during the 2023 L’ATTITUDE conference. Deepblocks was selected by a panel of industry experts and a live audience as the most innovative startup in the real estate sector. The reason? It brings zoning—the most opaque and manual step in development—into the digital age.
At its core, Deepblocks is using artificial intelligence and advanced data modeling to empower developers, brokers, and city planners to make faster, smarter decisions. Whether you’re a major fund evaluating new markets or a developer scouting a buildable lot in an upzoned district, Deepblocks’ tools streamline the process with instant zoning reports, AI-backed feasibility, and location-specific modeling in over 200 cities.
Ramos’ background is as multidisciplinary as her technology. She holds advanced degrees in both architecture and real estate development from Columbia University and the University of Miami, respectively. She’s also been an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Singularity University and DARPA, sharpening her ability to bridge physical and digital systems. With Deepblocks, she’s combining urban design, finance, and machine learning to reshape how cities grow.
But the mission goes deeper than automation. Ramos is passionate about leveling the playing field in real estate development, an industry long driven by insider access and manual red tape. By democratizing zoning data, Deepblocks is helping smaller developers and entrepreneurs—many of them Latino—compete in a space that once required vast capital and legal teams to navigate.
Q&A with Olivia Ramos
What problem were you trying to solve when you founded Deepblocks, and how has that mission evolved?
Olivia: We founded Deepblocks at Singularity University to address the fragmentation of information in the building development process. Although our mission remains the same, the scope of the problem turned out to be even bigger than we initially realized. We’ve chosen to focus on the first phase, which is finding prime investment opportunities—rather skipping a few steps to optimizing building structures themselves.
Winning the NAHREP Innovation Showcase was a big milestone. What does that recognition mean to you as a Latina founder in proptech?
Olivia: I’m incredibly grateful for the recognition and have great respect for NAHREP and its members. We showcased our new product, AIM, which launches in a few weeks, and it was validating to see talented agents acknowledge its relevance. AIM allows agents to visualize all the off-market leads that meet their client’s criteria.
What role do you see AI and zoning data playing in the future of real estate development?
Olivia: Zoning is often overlooked, yet it holds critical insights into the future. By leveraging AI, we can identify every viable investment opportunity in a city and monitor decisions in near-real time—giving investors an early edge on potential growth areas.
What has been one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a startup founder, and what did you learn from it?
Olivia: Achieving product–market fit is the greatest challenge, requiring constant iteration and a willingness to listen to market feedback. As a founder, I’m naturally optimistic about what’s lacking in the industry, but balancing innovation with real, immediate demands has been a key lesson.
What advice would you give to aspiring Latinas entering tech and entrepreneurship?
Olivia: Leading a team effectively means understanding each member and the required work—down to the smallest detail. It’s the only way to earn the trust of professionals who specialize in areas you don’t, and it’s essential for coordinating a project across disciplines like engineering, data science, marketing, and sales.
Deepblocks’ Showcase win affirms its impact in reshaping how we think about site acquisition, permitting, and investment strategy. With zoning as the entry point, Ramos and her team are building what could become the new operating system for real estate intelligence.
Entrepreneurs looking to follow in Olivia’s footsteps can apply to the HWP Accelerator Program—a virtual startup development track offering mentorship, workshops, and investor exposure to early-stage founders across all industries.
Ramos’ background is as multidisciplinary as her technology. She holds advanced degrees in both architecture and real estate development from Columbia University and the University of Miami, respectively. She’s also been an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Singularity University and DARPA, sharpening her ability to bridge physical and digital systems. With Deepblocks, she’s combining urban design, finance, and machine learning to reshape how cities grow.
But the mission goes deeper than automation. Ramos is passionate about leveling the playing field in real estate development, an industry long driven by insider access and manual red tape. By democratizing zoning data, Deepblocks is helping smaller developers and entrepreneurs—many of them Latino—compete in a space that once required vast capital and legal teams to navigate.
Q&A with Olivia Ramos
What problem were you trying to solve when you founded Deepblocks, and how has that mission evolved?
Olivia: We founded Deepblocks at Singularity University to address the fragmentation of information in the building development process. Although our mission remains the same, the scope of the problem turned out to be even bigger than we initially realized. We’ve chosen to focus on the first phase, which is finding prime investment opportunities—rather skipping a few steps to optimizing building structures themselves.
Winning the NAHREP Innovation Showcase was a big milestone. What does that recognition mean to you as a Latina founder in proptech?
Olivia: I’m incredibly grateful for the recognition and have great respect for NAHREP and its members. We showcased our new product, AIM, which launches in a few weeks, and it was validating to see talented agents acknowledge its relevance. AIM allows agents to visualize all the off-market leads that meet their client’s criteria.
What role do you see AI and zoning data playing in the future of real estate development?
Olivia: Zoning is often overlooked, yet it holds critical insights into the future. By leveraging AI, we can identify every viable investment opportunity in a city and monitor decisions in near-real time—giving investors an early edge on potential growth areas.
What has been one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a startup founder, and what did you learn from it?
Olivia: Achieving product–market fit is the greatest challenge, requiring constant iteration and a willingness to listen to market feedback. As a founder, I’m naturally optimistic about what’s lacking in the industry, but balancing innovation with real, immediate demands has been a key lesson.
What advice would you give to aspiring Latinas entering tech and entrepreneurship?
Olivia: Leading a team effectively means understanding each member and the required work—down to the smallest detail. It’s the only way to earn the trust of professionals who specialize in areas you don’t, and it’s essential for coordinating a project across disciplines like engineering, data science, marketing, and sales.
Deepblocks’ Showcase win affirms its impact in reshaping how we think about site acquisition, permitting, and investment strategy. With zoning as the entry point, Ramos and her team are building what could become the new operating system for real estate intelligence.
Entrepreneurs looking to follow in Olivia’s footsteps can apply to the HWP Accelerator Program—a virtual startup development track offering mentorship, workshops, and investor exposure to early-stage founders across all industries.
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