Zibo raises $10.5 million

Azibo, a banking and payment platform for independent landlords, has closed a $10.5 million seed round led by Canaan Partners, with participation by QED Investors, Khosla Ventures and SVB Capital.

The startup, which claims to be the smartest bank account for landlords, offers a suite of financial tools, including FDIC-insured business checking accounts, automated rent collection, online bill pay, and expense management to simplify tax prep. With Zibo, landlords can now organize all of their rental bank accounts and expenses in a single platform for free. In addition, Zibo helps landlords get insurance by “comparing comprehensive policies across a robust network of carriers serving residential rental properties.”

Zibo is led by CEO and cofounder Chris Hsu, who previously served as COO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Zibo chairman & cofounder Gregor Watson (who is also Co-founder and chairman of Roofstock) and cofounder Rob Bloemker previously managed one of the largest single-family rental home portfolios, and also cofounded Dwell Finance, which was sold to Blackstone in 2015.

“Zibo couldn’t have come at a more crucial time as landlords today face unprecedented economic challenges. Their simple, streamlined technology platform enables rental property owners to better manage their finances and automate processes that should have been automated a long time ago. We look forward to helping Zibo grow into an iconic PropTech business.” – Rich Boyle, General Partner at Canaan Partners.

“Zibo represents the future of banking by delivering a curated set of modern, digital banking products to a single customer segment instead of trying to be all things to all people. I’m impressed by the team’s experience across real estate, finance and tech and am thrilled to partner with Zibo to help landlords across the U.S. with their holistic banking needs.” – Frank Rotman, Founding Partner at QED Investors.