Realty Mogul, a property platform that connects investors with real estate opportunities, has raised $35 million for its Series B funding.
The Series B funding was backed primarily by Sorenson Capital and Canaan Partners, who also led last year's $9 million Series A funding. Series B resources will be used by to finance Realty Mogul's manpower expansion. According to GlobeSt, the firm plans to add more data scientists and technologists to further improve the company's real estate platform.
Jilliene Helman, co-founder and CEO of Realty Mogul, said that there is a growing interest in fin-tech, along with the number of investments being made to fund real estate technology projects across the venture community, reports GlobeSt. Helman further mentioned that funding for Series B went quickly given the increased excitement over an online marketplace for real estate. This was attributed mainly to the achievements and success of Lending Corp. and AllState Capital. Helman added that aside from finding the right partner, a big plus is that Realty Mogul is considered as part of the brand leaders.
Over the past two years, Realty Mogul's focus is in growing its technology platform. This saw the growth of the company, from only 10 employees to the 88 head count it has now. The GlobeSt report also mentioned Helman citing Sorensen Capital as an ideal partner for Realty Mogul. Helman further explained that Sorensen Capital's background in technology will help ensure the company's focus on technology.
Realty Mogul launched its online marketplace in March 20, 2013, reports TechCrunch, where it provided an opportunity for individuals and accredited investors to fund equity deals. The company's CEO shared that the company is seeing more institutional investors making real estate deals, despite this trend, Helman still considers initial investors and individuals as a significant part of the marketplace.
When TechCrunch asked about an opinion on the increasing number of start-up companies who are entering into the real estate crowdfunding, the CEO replied that the industry has become more competitive. Helman adds that the massive size of the industry, Realty Mogul is not running into online competitors.
