AI Search Startup 10xSearch Wins 2026 Edge Pitch Battle; Purlin Is Crowd Favorite

Judges picked the startup that helps real estate firms show up in AI answers; 
the audience chose Purlin's search-to-close platform

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- 10xSearch outlasted seven competitors across three rounds of live pitches to win the 2026 Edge Pitch Battle hosted by T3 Sixty and Real Estate News, held Oct. 28-29 in Dallas. Attendees named Purlin the crowd favorite.

10xSearch helps brokerages get found and cited across search engines and AI answer tools, a growing priority as more buyers and sellers begin their home search by asking AI.

The win comes as T3 Sixty prepares to release the 2027 Swanepoel Trends Report, which names "The AI-First Consumer Tests the Agent's Value" as one of the year's top trends.

"I have built businesses on being found online, so 10xSearch hit home for me," said Edge Pitch Battle judge Tarek El Moussa, founder of Nestla and CEO of Tarek Buys Houses. "If AI is where buyers and sellers start, you had better be in the answer. They're building for the future of search, and they made a complicated problem simple."

The final round came down to 10xSearch, Agent Buddi and FIJI. After a close deliberation, the judges chose 10xSearch.

Purlin, the crowd favorite, is an end-to-end platform that guides a transaction from search to close.

"As an operator, I look for tools agents will actually use on a busy Tuesday, not just in a demo," said Edge pitch battle judge Sunny Tracey, broker associate and operations director at Spyglass Realty. "Purlin showed a platform that already carries real deals from search to close, and you could feel the room respond to that."

Hosted by T3 Sixty and Real Estate News, the Edge Pitch Battle put eight early- to growth-stage proptech companies on stage in a live, three-round competition. A panel of judges scored each company on product quality and differentiation, business impact, market opportunity and pitch quality, and attendees voted for their favorite. Competitors had to be Series B or earlier with under $7 million in annual recurring revenue, with a product live in the market and at least one paying customer or signed pilot. The field spanned the full deal lifecycle, from getting found online and matching consumers with agents to closing transactions and running the business, including tools for agent safety and co-buying.

"The Edge Pitch Battle exists to put the next wave of residential real estate technology in front of leaders who will decide whether it has business impact and staying power," said Bryson Creighton, senior vice president of technology at T3 Sixty. "10xSearch is a great example. The way buyers and sellers find their next home or agent is changing. More and more of them start with an AI chat instead of a website, and brokerages and agents need to show up in those conversations."

The judges were Tarek El Moussa, founder of Nestla and CEO of Tarek Buys Houses; Josh Epps, chief information officer at Fickling & Company; Sunny Tracey, broker associate and operations director at Spyglass Realty; and Kristen Vaughn, director of operations at PrimeMLS.

The eight 2026 Edge Pitch Battle competitors were 10xSearch, Agent Buddi, FIJI, hōmhub, Open Houses Direct, Pairgap, Purlin and VIZO.

About T3 Sixty
T3 Sixty is the leader in management consultancy and research in the residential real estate industry. Now in its 28th year of operation, the company is also the leading publisher of many annual reports, including the Swanepoel Trends Report, Swanepoel Power 200 and the Real Estate Almanac. For more information, visit www.t3sixty.com.

SOURCE T3 Sixty