Today Localize announced a $25 million Series C financing round led by Pitango Growth, with additional participation from Mizrahi-Tefahot and existing investors. The company's funding to date totals $70 million.
“The homebuying process is complex and the real estate industry as a whole has been slow to embrace technological change to address these issues,” said Omer Granot, president and chief operating officer of Localize. “Most of the data available in the market today is too fragmented for buyers to effectively use.”
Luckily, Localize has developed an AI-driven platform to assist buyers and brokers in solving existing pain points related to the real estate market. Billions of data points are collated into hundreds of selectable attributes that are easy to filter through. For example, some homebuyers prefer close proximity to popular stores, like Trader Joe’s. Others may want to filter their options for high ceilings and plenty of natural light. Users can also see reports on building violations as well as complaints and pests.
Homebuyers can easily tailor their home search with the additional AI technology Localize offers. One of their most notable products is their homebuyer advisor, Hunter — the company’s hybrid human-AI concierge service. Hunter provides buyers with a personalized, daily curated listing that becomes more refined as the buyer continues searching.
“We have developed products that are shifting the paradigm to empower prospective buyers and brokers to really fill in those information gaps and receive the assistance they need throughout the entire process, making us a partner from their initial search to receiving keys in hand for their new home,” Granot added. “We’re excited to have secured this funding from our investors who believe in what we’re building and are helping us grow into the premier comprehensive real estate technology platform in the market.”
Hunter is also able to assist brokers in finding leads. Homebuyers often want personalized service when going through the homebuying process; however, for many brokers this is too costly and results in lost leads. Hunter can act as a virtual assistant for brokers by qualifying leads and cultivating lead lists, then reintroducing these leads to agents when buyers want to visit a property in person.
“Buying a home is one of the most important financial and life decisions many people make,” said Chemi Peres, co-founder of Pitango and new member of Localize’s Board of Directors. “Localize enables people to find and buy the house of their dreams in a short time, using the advanced AI tools it developed. The ability to use tools that automate and digitalize this process, combined with insights that are produced using algorithms which run on massive amounts of data, makes the results quick, accurate, and fully fitted to the client’s needs.”
Despite the pandemic's impact on the housing market, Localize has shown record growth in the NYC marketplace this year. The newly raised funds will be dedicated towards the development of their existing services.
For more information on Localize, visit https://www.localize.city/.
