Online real estate marketplace OpenDoor says it’s raising a whopping $325 million in financing, valuing the company at more than $2 billion.
The company said its valuation is a clear validation of its unique business model, which sees it compete with legacy real estate brokers by offering a two-sided marketplace that eliminates the hassle of buying and selling homes. Essentially what it does is buy homes sight unseen, does them up, and then sells them on for a profit. It’s basically an enormous house-flipping operation.
The model could soon be further validated, as Re/Code reports that it’s in talks with Japanese software giant SoftBank Group over another investment that could take place later this year. SoftBank typically invests hundreds of millions of dollars into the companies it backs, and it’s likely to do the same with Outdoor, Re/Code’s anonymous sources said.
With today’s funding, Outdoor is planning to expand to more than 50 cities, from the 10 markets it currently operates in. It plans to do this by 2020 at the latest, and will also increase its current workforce of 650 employees.
The latest round was led by General Atlantic with participation from home builder Lennar and also two smaller investors – Andreesen Horowitz and the 10100 fund which is led by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
Source: realtybiznews.com