An Austin, Texas-based real estate startup that claims its technology can match qualified homebuyers and sellers with real estate agents in real-time announced recently that it plans to grow its platform significantly thanks to a sizeable capital raise.
Opcity, which initially launched in a few markets in 2016, announced last week that it raised $27 million in its Series A round of financing. According to the company, Silicon Valley-based Icon Ventures, artificial intelligence-focused Georgian Partners, and Texas-based LiveOak Venture Partners led the funding.
The company said in a release that it plans to use the capital infusion to “rapidly scale its workforce and establish an award-winning culture to expand its footprint to real estate brokers nationwide.”
According to Opcity, its technology platform identifies “transaction-ready” buyers and sellers in the “growing haystack” of online real estate inquiries. The platform then provides their information to brokers in real-time, with no upfront cost to the agents.
According to the company, it only gets paid when a transaction closes. And the company says that using its “unique technology and matching algorithm,” online inquires are converted into transactions three to five times more often than the industry average.
“The home buying and selling experience for brokers, agents and consumers has historically been complex and at times extremely frustrating,” said Ben Rubenstein, CEO and founder of Opcity.
“Our goal at Opcity is to simplify this process and to generate a more efficient ecosystem by matching home buyers and sellers with the right agents in real-time and then optimizing their experience every step of the way,” Rubenstein continued. “We also take on all upfront costs, which ensures we’re completely aligned with the brokers, their agents, and the consumers, as we do not get paid until a transaction successfully closes.”
Since its launch last year, Opcity grew quickly. According to the company, its platform is now in use by 350 brokerages and more than 4,000 agents, including agents from Better Homes & Gardens, Keller Williams, ReMax, Century 21, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, and others.
Now, the company plans to expand, using the money from Icon Ventures and the other firms.
“Opcity is one of the most compelling marketplace businesses we have seen, with the opportunity to transform the real estate industry while creating a win/win with all their constituents,” said Tom Mawhinney, general partner at Icon Ventures, who will join the Opcity board as part of the deal. “Opcity has the total package of an incredible team, product, and business model.”
