Real estate tech company Compass announced it received a $450 million investment from Japanese company SoftBank Vision Fund on Dec. 7. This investment stands as the largest real estate technology investment in U.S. history and brings the total capital raised by Compass to $775 million.
“Real estate is a huge asset class, but the sector has been relatively untouched by technology and remains inefficient and fragmented,” said Justin Wilson, a senior investment professional at the SoftBank Vision Fund. “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.”
Compass is currently working to assemble the first modern real estate platform in an effort to reduce friction and frustration associated with selling, buying or renting property by providing real estate agents tools that increase efficiency and sales volume. The company’s $775 million capital will go toward expansion across 10 new metropolitan markets in the next two years.
Last month, The Lowe Group, a top real estate team in Chicago, joined with Compass to launch its first Chicago office. With the appeal of its agent-centric technology, Compass has expanded its agent population by 500 percent in the past 24 months. Such technology helps Compass agents sell clients’ homes faster and at higher prices, and it makes the process more efficient for buyers. With its recent influx of capital, Compass plans to extend its resources to benefit more top agents and their clients across the U.S.
“The combination of technology and our partnership with top real estate agents who do outsized transaction volume will enable us to build the world’s largest real estate technology platform,” said Ori Allon, founder and executive chairman of Compass. “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. 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.”