HomeLight raises $109M in debt and equity

Purchasing a home is not to be taken lightly. There are a plethora of startups looking to tackle the heavy burden of buying a home to streamline the process for shoppers.

Another such startup, San Francisco-based HomeLight, has announced a $109 million round of debt and equity funding. The financing round includes $63 million in Series C equity from venture capital firms and $46 million in debt financing “to fuel mortgage operations.”

Zeev Ventures led the round, which included participation from Group 11, Menlo Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Stereo Capital, and others. The financing brings the company’s total raised over its lifetime to about $164 million, according to Crunchbase data. Previously, it raised a $40 million Series B in August 2017.

HomeLight’s initial product focused on using artificial intelligence to match consumers and real estate investors to agents. Since then, the company has expanded to also providing title and escrow services to agents and home sellers and matching sellers with iBuyers. In July, HomeLight acquired Eave as an entry into the (increasingly crowded) mortgage lending space.

CEO Drew Uher founded HomeLight in 2012 after he and his wife experienced firsthand the pain of trying to buy a home in the competitive Bay Area market:

“The process of buying a home in San Francisco was so frustrating it made me want to bang my head against the wall. I realized there was so many things wrong with the real estate industry. I went through a few real estate agents before finding the right match. So when I did find one, it made me feel empowered to compete and win against the other buyers.”

Thus, the concept behind HomeLight was born.

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