Knock raises $220 million

NY-based real estate startup Knock has secured $220 million of new funding, which includes $70 million in equity and $150 million in debt. The equity round was led by Foundry Group with participation from existing investors First American Financial, Corizon Capital and RRE Ventures as well as several new investors, including the National Association of Realtors, director/producer M Night Shyamalan and Mauricio Umansky, co-founder of luxury real estate brokerage The Agency.

Founded in 2015, Knock helps homebuyers make cash offers. It lends consumers 100% of the money they need to buy their new house and helps them manage the entire process of buying and selling with their agent. Knock offers solutions to new homebuyers as well as those looking to sell their current home and buy a new one.

Last year, Knock hired Goldman Sachs as it looked to go public via a SPAC merger. The plan didn’t go according to plan which is why Knock announced this new funding. In conjunction with the funding, Knock also announced layoffs. “While substantial, the capital we raised is much less than what we set out to raise in our IPO, requiring us to rightsize the business, including the difficult decision to part ways with many of our beloved Knockstars.”

According to HousingWire, the startup laid off 46% of its workforce.