Nomad Homes, which is creating a digital platform that uses technology to help people in Europe and the Middle East buy and finance homes more easily, has received a $4 million seed round boost.
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Comcast Ventures led the seed financing, which also included Abstract Ventures, Partech, Precursor Ventures, WndrCo and Class 5 Global.
Nomad Homes’ co-founders Helen Chen, Daniel Piehler and Damien Drap started the company from Palo Alto, California, in September 2019, and officially launched its online presence in Dubai at the end of June, Chen said in an interview.
Most of the new funding will be used to scale the engineering team, mainly in the United States, while also further growing the marketplace, services and development of the product. The company is also laying the groundwork for a second launch city in Europe.
What you need to know
Nomad Homes is going after a $20 trillion annual real estate market that traditionally has been served by outdated technology and customer service, relative to what is offered in the U.S., and that makes it a difficult process to purchase a home, Chensaid.
To do that, Nomad Homes is incorporating aspects from the Multiple Listing Service and proptech startups, such as Zillow, Opendoor, Compass and Redfin—all models that don’t yet exist in the Middle East and many parts of Europe.
“If you go onto Zillow, you have perfect clarity about what your home transacted for, all of the listings are real and there are no duplicates,” Chen said. “In Dubai’s traditional marketplace, there are fake listings, duplicates and you don’t have that pricing transparency or school district information.”
The opportunity also goes beyond searching for a home. When users are ready to purchase a home, Nomad Homes has a financing component that helps them with the transaction, making money by taking a percentage of the commission.
What investors are saying
Daniel Gulati, a managing director at Comcast Ventures, said in a written statement that its investment was driven by the team.
“Helen and the team bring a unique blend of Silicon Valley DNA, real estate insights and on-the-ground operating experience,” he said. “We are excited to support Nomad’s quest to deliver a superior experience for all market participants with a technology-first approach.”
Next steps for Nomad Homes
Chen said the company will continue to build out its product services to provide consumers with technology to aid them as they find their perfect home.
Photo: Nomad Homes’ co-founders, from left, Damien Drap, Helen Chen and Daniel Piehler. Photo courtesy of Nomad Homes
Blogroll illustration: Li-Anne Dias
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