UAE-based PropTech Nomad Homes raises $20M Series A
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The UAE-based PropTech and peer-to-peer home booking platform Nomad Homes, has successfully raised $20M in its latest funding round. The Series A round was co-led by 01 Advisors and The Spruce House Partnership, a New York-based investment partnership. A mix of new and existing investors and key angel investors also participated in the round, including Goodwater Capital, HighSage Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Partech, Class 5 Global, Precursor Ventures, Alta Park Capital, and an undisclosed multi-billion dollar crossover fund, among others.
Launched in 2020 by three friends Helen Chen, Dan Piehler, and Damien Drap who bonded over their frustrations of finding a place to live in a new city. Through their seamless and multi-integrated platform, supported by localized customer service experts, Nomad Homes enables buyers to find and buy their ideal home.
Nomad Homes raised 1 of the 5 funding rounds in Real Estate in the UAE in 2020 and is now driving the deal count to only 1 deal short to equal the record in 2021 YTD. More remarkably, every fourth transaction in Real Estate across MENA in 2021 was closed by a UAE-based Real Estate startup with other remarkable rounds closed by Cairo-based Isqan.com and Sakneen, and a major round by Morocco-based Mubawab.
The founders’ collective experience at Blackstone, Addepar, and Uber gave them insight into designing a better, buyer-first approach. The process of buying a home remains offline and with no buy-side agents, leaving potential home buyers without representation or support in what will likely be a consumer’s largest financial asset. “Nomad Homes has built an incredible platform that is shaping the future of real estate across EMEA,” said Dick Costolo, Managing Partner of 01 Advisors. “What the team is building is increasing market liquidity and simplifying the consumer experience. We have invested in similarly transformative companies in the US and are excited to partner with these founders and the entire team as they expand.”
Despite launching amidst a global pandemic, the UAE-based team has already expanded to its second country in less than one year. Growth has accelerated through 2021 with transaction volumes growing over 16x through the first half of the year. “We are using the same playbook that we used at Uber, to accelerate launching and scaling across markets,” says Drap, Nomad COO. Co-Founder and CEO Helen Chen elaborated “We believe that the combination of technology and personalized customer experience empowers our customers to buy their home with confidence. A lot of that confidence comes from the MLS that Nomad is creating, which provides home buyers the data and transparency to make that decision.”
Nomad Homes is live in Paris and Dubai and will use the new funding to accelerate its expansion across EMEA, specifically in Southern Europe. The company will continue to invest heavily in its technology and offer additional products and services to offer a “one-stop-shop” for everything related to the home. “We are particularly excited to continue investing in new fintech products and pricing tools to further streamline the buying journey for our customers,” says Piehler, Nomad CPO. General Partner of The Spruce House Partnership Zachary Sternberg shared his high hopes for the PropTech as he concluded “We have known Helen for years and are convinced Nomad is the best team to take advantage of this opportunity across EMEA.”
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