Ribbon Raises $30 Million Series B and $300 Million in Debt to Expand its Home Buying Platform
Company brings speed, transparency, and certainty to the homebuying process, enabling consumers and real estate agents to buy and sell homes more easily and efficiently
Oct 29, 2019, 09:00 ET
NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ribbon announced today it has raised $330 million in equity and debt financing, to facilitate the company's expansion into new markets, and accelerate product development efforts. The company, which helps consumers more easily and efficiently buy homes, closed a $30 million Series B round of funding led by Greylock, and secured a debt facility with Goldman Sachs that, in addition to a previous facility, provides current financing capacity to $300M upon closing and may be increased by an additional $220M, in each case, upon the satisfaction of certain conditions. All previous investors, including Bain Capital Ventures, NFX and NYCA also participated in the Series B round, as did new investor Thomvest Ventures.
Ribbon dramatically simplifies the homebuying process by enabling homebuyers with an all-cash, guaranteed-to-close "Ribbon Offer" to present to homesellers. Buyers are pre-approved for a purchase and home valuations are completed within 24 hours, making the offer experience fast, transparent and predictable. If a homebuyer can't close with a mortgage on time, Ribbon will buy and reserve the home on behalf of the homebuyer and lease it to them for up to six months. Sellers and agents also benefit from the process, which ensures a guaranteed, stress-free experience. To-date, homebuyers working with Ribbon have increased their chance of having their offer accepted by an estimated 10x, saved an average of $10,000 in cash discounts and received a 100% on-time closing.
"Homebuyers, homesellers, real estate agents and lenders are all enthusiastically working with Ribbon to streamline the real estate transaction and deliver a frictionless buying and selling experience," said Ribbon CEO Shaival Shah. "We're grateful for the confidence our investors have shown in our business model with this round of funding, and excited about the opportunity to bring our products and services into new markets and design new product solutions. We are expanding our platform to help even more families who have homes to buy and sell and families who are buying their first home."
"Buying a home – especially when you want to sell a current home and level up – can be a frustrating and stressful experience. By bringing technology to the homebuying experience, Ribbon makes it much easier for all parties involved," said Josh McFarland, Partner at Greylock. "Since leading the seed round, the Ribbon team hasn't slowed down when it comes to innovating, and Greylock is thrilled to continue our support as the company builds new, transformative technology for the real estate industry and expands into more markets."
Ribbon currently operates in eight markets across four states - Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville, Atlanta, Charleston, Greenville, Memphis and Knoxville – and plans to expand its coverage to 20 markets across ten states by the end of 2020. The company, which has increased its employee count to 60 full-time staff, has experienced explosive growth. The company has grown 10x over the last 12 months and has increased demand to an annual rate of $1bn in consumer buying power and registered real estate agents on the Ribbon Platform that represent $12bn in transaction volume.
"Since our initial investment two years ago, the Ribbon team - which is stacked with talent and industry expertise - has built a solution that removes uncertainty from the transaction, making it easier for buyers, sellers, and agents," said Pete Flint, Managing Partner, NFX and Founder, Trulia. "Ribbon is proving that superior technology and data plus capital is what it will take to truly transform the real estate industry. As Ribbon continues to expand across the US, buyers and sellers are the real winners."
Ribbon has released several new product offerings to deliver an even more seamless homebuying experience for all parties involved, including tools for new home construction companies, homebuyers using Conventional, FHA and VA insured loans, real estate agents and lenders.
"The real estate market is rapidly evolving as consumer demand drives innovative solutions forward," said Matt Harris, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. "We continue to believe that the Ribbon team has the passion, commitment and experience to make a tremendous impact on how people buy and sell homes. By bringing greater fairness and efficiency to the market, they are making homeownership achievable for a broader span of the population."
About Ribbon
Ribbon was born in 2017 with the mission of creating a level playing field and improving the experience for consumers and real estate agents in the home buying process. We are a group of passionate technologists, financial innovators and real estate experts. Our team has built market leading companies and overseen the purchase and sale of over 20,000 homes throughout our careers. We come from companies such as LendingClub, Zillow, Twitter, Kickstarter, Toast, Spotify, Invitation Homes, and American Homes for Rent.
Ribbon raised financing from top tier venture capitalist firms including Greylock, NFX, Bain Capital Ventures, NYCA and Thomvest, and debt financing through Goldman Sachs. The company is currently operating in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, with plans for rapid expansion. For more information, please visit www.ribbonhome.com.
SOURCE Ribbon
