After closing on a Series A funding round of $35 million in June of this year, rental technology player Lessen announced it has closed on a Series B round of $170 million in a press release.
As a result the recent infusion, the company is valued at over $1 billion, making Lessen the second proptech this month to reach “unicorn” status.
Fifth Wall Ventures led the Series B, with Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst and Navitas Capital assisting. In total, the company has raised $214 million.
“Proceeds from the current investment will be used to fund new technology products, support new field operations teams and facilitate market expansion,” the release stated.
Lessen’s model is based on connecting landlords and their physical management teams to expedite critical functions involved with keeping rental properties operable. The web-based platform relies on a series of collaboration tools, bidding interfaces, project management oversight and rapid payment systems.
The company states it currently serves 2,000-plus professionals across more than 30 markets.
“This funding round gives us the rocket fuel we need to continue to scale the business in many ways,” founder and CEO of Lessen, Jay McKee, said in the press release. “We are being acknowledged as the only company that is delivering technology-enabled service fulfillment in a way that specifically targets our clients needs”
With more Americans turn to renting for long-term living, investors and the entrepreneurs they back continue to create ways to streamline how landlords do business and tenants find places.
In September, Adam Docktor, a Realtor with Compass in Fort Lauderdale, told Inman that rental demand is off the charts. “I can tell you, I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said.
“[From] 2015 to 2019 there were tons of rentals. We had so many online, and [buildings] were not full. And now all the buildings are between like 95 and 99 percent full where people were like, ‘Oh, that’s never going to happen,'” Docktor said.
Lessen said in the release that it plans to add more than 1,000 employees in the coming year. It has around 415 to date.
