A NYC startup that wants to make finding a home easier just raised $450 million at a $2.2 billion valuation
Compass
- Real estate startup Compass has raised $450 million from SoftBank at a $2.2 billion valuation.
- The money will be used to expand where Compass operates.
Compass, the New York-based startup with the goal of disrupting the real-estate market, has raised $450 million at a $2.2 billion valuation.
The new money, which comes from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank's $100 billion tech fund, will be used to bring the Compass platform to more cities than the 11 areas where it now operates.
“With the support of the SoftBank Vision Fund, we will be able to move quickly to execute our ‘Compass Everywhere’ vision, partnering with top agents and their clients in every major U.S. city," Compass founder Ori Allon said in a statement shared with Business Insider. "Just last week, we launched in Chicago with the number one agent team in the State of Illinois, and we are continuing to gain momentum with top agents everywhere.”
Compass has now raised $775 million to date. And with a more than $2 billion valuation, SoftBank's investment propels the five-year-old company into the upper ranks of New York's most valuable tech startups.
Compass
While it employs traditional brokers, the main selling points of Compass are the leveraging of data to improve the efficiency of the real estate business along with a sleek mobile app for buyers and renters.
“Real estate is a huge asset class, but the sector has been relatively untouched by technology and remains inefficient and fragmented,” SoftBank's Justin Wilson said in a statement. “Compass is building a differentiated, end-to-end tech platform that aggregates across diverse data streams to support agents and homebuyers through the entire process, well beyond the initial home search. With disruptive technology and unique data advantages, Compass is well-positioned for future growth in a sector that represents trillions in transaction volume.”