OJO Labs — which has developed an artificial intelligence-based assistant for the homebuying process — just raised $45 million in a Series C funding round.
The Austin-based company will use the money to expand and speed up its product development, the company said in a statement. Investors in the funding round include LiveOak Venture Partners, Realogy Holdings, Royal Bank of Canada and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures.
OJO has a virtual assistant that seeks to help homebuyers and sellers through the home search and transaction process. The platform includes mobile messaging and a variety of web tools — including assistance with picking a neighborhood and financial guidance. Once a consumer is ready to start the process, OJO matches them with an agent.
So far, the product has been available in 12 U.S. markets and Toronto — and is now being rolled out nationwide. OJO has offices in Austin, Minneapolis-St. Paul and St. Lucia, with plans to expand its teams in each location. Specifically, the company hopes to grow its data science, engineering, product and design operations.
The company raised $20.5 million in a Series B round last year. Realogy, RBC and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures participated in that round as well.
AI has had a growing presence among real estate startups and even traditional brokerages like Keller Williams.