Dongnae.com, a South Korean real estate startup, has raised $4.1 million U.S. in a seed funding round led by U.S.-based venture capital firms FlyBridge and MetaProp.org. The site plans to launch in the spring of 2021.
Besides angel investors, two other VC firms Goodwater Capital and Maple VC also participated in the round, which brought the total funding to $4.8 million U.S., TechCrunch reported today.
Founded earlier this year by Matthew Shampine, an alum of co-working space WeWork, Dongnae has an ambition to become the multiple listing system and a centralized arena for for-sale and rental properties. It currently has 25 people on staff.
The South Korean real estate market is saturated with brokers — the country has as many brokers as the U.S., despite being a fifth of the size.
Shampine says the real estate marketplace is building “close partnership” with brokers, who may or may not end up operating as franchises. Like other brokers, it plans to charge an 8% buyer’s commission on sales.
American investors have recently taken interest in the South Korea’s real estate market. Investment bank Goldman Sachs owns stake in property vertical ZigBang.com, which competes with Hogangnono.com and R114.com.
