Real estate brokerage and technology company Side announced Monday it raised $150 million, putting the company at a valuation of more than $1 billion, making it the latest real estate technology unicorn. The company plans to use the funding to fuel expansion.
Guy Gal | Photo credit: Side
“Today’s top-producing real estate professionals are underserved and underappreciated by the existing brokerage models,” Side CEO Guy Gal said in a statement. “The incentives between brokerages and top agents and teams are misaligned.”
Side operates as a white-label technology platform and brokerage that allows agents and teams to market themselves or their brand first, while Side takes care of the technology and brokerage support. The teams and agents are technically affiliated with Side as one massive brokerage, but the company puts the emphasis on the team and agent first.
Side takes care of the brokerage support on the backend, while the agents are front-facing. In California, for example, the company has more than 1,000 licensed agents, but the company’s own website doesn’t have an agent roster and contact form like a traditional brokerage.
“Existing brokerages are designed to support average agents, so they put all of the heavy lifting, cost, time, and risk of operations and growth on top-producing agents who want to focus their time on expertly serving their clients,” Gal added. “Side was purposefully designed to enable top agents, teams, and independent brokerages to fulfill their aspiration and potential.”
Side currently operates in California, Texas and Florida and with the money will embark on a hiring spree with an eye towards a national footprint.
Side’s Series D $150 million funding round is being led by Coatue Management, a top global technology-focused investment firm. The company has raised $200 million to date. Additional investors include Matrix Partners, Trinity Ventures, and Sapphire Ventures.
“The future of real estate is here, and with this financing, we are excited to continue partnering with and being of service to more of the world’s best real estate professionals,” Guy said.
Reaching unicorn valuation puts Side in good company with other well-funded real estate technology companies that have recently gone public or plan to go public in the future, including Compass and Opendoor.
