SoftBank invests $400M in home-selling Startup Opendoor

“Together, we will not only further simplify the home sale, but build an end-to-end experience that will enable people to buy, sell, and move in 1-click . And we will be streamlining the entire transaction for our customers – giving them the convenience, certainty, and control that will allow them to focus on what matters most in their lives.” – Founder & CEO, Opendoor, Eric Wu.

Online real estate marketplace Opendoor  has announced a $400M investment from the SoftBank Vision Fund, bringing its total funding to date to over $1b. The company also announced it has secured access to more than $2b in debt financing from top banks.

Established in 2014, the San Francisco-based team of 900 employees has served more than 20,000 customers and expects to be in 50 cities by the end of 2020, currently operating in nineteen: Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, Riverside, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa

Here’s the Idea – Home-sellers receive an online offer within 24 hours, home-buyers can purchase a home from the mobile phone after they’ve shopped around and visited homes, and there’s also a value proposition for trade-in customers to offer a seamless experience to manage what otherwise would be two separate transactions.

“Real estate is the biggest asset class in the U.S. and the biggest transaction in people’s lives, but its digital transformation is only beginning. We believe that Eric and his team are redefining home buying and selling by rethinking the status quo and providing a faster and more seamless experience for the customer.” – Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, Jeffrey Housenbold.

Opendoor will use the additional capital to (1) develop a platform to buy, sell or trade-in a home in 1-click, starting with the integration of the recently acquired Open Listings buyer platform, (2) integrate additional services such as title and mortgage to make the transaction seamless, (3) build applications that support and drive efficiencies across an ecosystem of local vendors – including contractors, landscapers, painters and home cleaners.