Real Estate Tech Sensation “Side” Snags Another $50 Million in Funding

News that real estate technology startup Side just raised another $50 million-plus in new funding comes as no surprise. The company, which snagged $150 million in Series D funding only a few months ago, is valued at over $2.5 billion now. 

Previously, Coatue Management shifted major funding to Side when the company was a a $1 billion valuation. Now, Tiger Global Management, ICONIQ Capital, and D1 Capital Partners jumped in as the Side makes big waves before an impending IPO.

So far, the company aimed at transforming individuals into real estate brands has raised over $250 million from the aforementioned and  Matrix Partners, Sapphire Ventures, Trinity Ventures, and 8VC in earlier rounds.

Side execs say the company expects to pull in somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million in revenue this year. TechCrunch author Mary Ann Azevedo reported recently that the company’s community of agent partners represents over $15 billion in annual production volume. She also mentioned that by the end of 2021, Side expects to close over $20 billion in home sales. This would make the San Francisco company the 10th biggest brokerage by sales in the U.S.

Currently, the company's more than 1,800 partner agents across California, Texas, and Florida represents a 200% year-over-year increase in agent-represented home sales across its three operating markets. Side says they expect to enter 15 more markets this year. 

Guy Gal, Edward Wu, and Hilary Saunders (above) founded Side with the idea agents are way undervalued. For people in the industry, the premise that the best agents do most of the heavy lifting at brokerages will resonate. Taking advantage of Side, movers, and shakers can brand themselves and profit directly from the expertise. 

Side works with agents and teams to create and market their unique boutique brands, something many top agents attempt alone, but often fail at. Side is different from other brokerages because it is a platform rather than a brand. This makes the platform invisible, white-label, which allows agents independence, to be standouts, and to be imminently more effective.