SA国际传媒

, a commercial real estate (CRE) transaction platform aiming to be the 鈥� of commercial real estate,鈥� among other things, has raised $10 million in a seed round led by .

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Commercial real estate brokerage participated in the rather large seed round along with , and the , which earlier this year (dubbed ).

San Diego-based Biproxi鈥檚 target users are commercial real estate brokers, buyers and tenants. It鈥檚 not, however, aimed at those conducting transactions around nine-digit or higher-valued properties. Instead, it wants to help a segment of the commercial real estate world that is considered to be 鈥渢he middle market,鈥� such as independent brokerages that might have less to spend on marketing.

鈥淭he platform gives independent agents the resources and reach to compete with larger brokerage houses while maintaining their independence,鈥� according to the company, with the goal of giving them a way to 鈥渞un a real estate deal from listing to closing鈥� with one platform instead of working with (and paying for) several.

As part of the funding announcement, the startup also said it unveiled today an algorithmic-based data product that provides 鈥渋nstant property and valuation data on over 32 million off market commercial properties.鈥� Biproxi says it gives users access to detailed information such as property data, historical sales data, assessed property values and financing history.

The company had previously launched a free product that offered biproximateTM, which provided 鈥渂iproximate鈥� (not perfect) values on more than 10 million commercial properties across the United States. That product also contained information on each property, including sales and financing history.

The offering of such data for free is unique in the CRE industry, according to CEO , who said that historically, accessing transaction history or the current market value of a commercial real estate property has required 鈥渁n expensive data subscription.鈥�

鈥淲ith Biproxi, we鈥檙e trying to take four or five tools the CRE industry uses and put it all onto one platform,鈥� he told SA国际传媒 News. 鈥淚n the United States, there are $600 billion in investment sales a year, and 75 percent of that volume is under $25 million. There鈥檚 a lot of opportunity there.鈥�

Biproxi also claims to do other things for a lower cost than traditional companies and other startups might. For example, Smith said it can conduct an appraisal within three to seven days for about $2400 whereas in the 鈥渢raditional appraisal world,鈥� it can cost closer to $5,000 to $7,000 and take three to four weeks.

Smith co-founded the company along with , and , in early 2018, one year after leaving now competitor , a commercial real estate exchange that he first became involved with when working at private equity firm . All co-founders have experience working in the CRE industry, a fact that led the startup to purposely not seek strategic investments from industry-focused VCs.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 seek a proptech investment base because our team has been in the business for a long time, and we really didn鈥檛 need that kind of expertise,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e knew that a lead investor like Greycroft could really help build a business.鈥�

, operating partner at Greycroft, said his firm recognizes that the CRE industry is a 鈥渓arge market.鈥�

鈥淲e believe Biproxi has created a more efficient way for brokers and investors to do business,鈥� he wrote via email. 鈥淏iproxi has created an end-to-end solution for commercial agents to complete an entire real estate deal on one free platform. We鈥檝e never seen all of these features packaged into one toolset.鈥�

Looking Ahead

The company will ultimately have three intended primary revenue streams, including charging buyers a transaction fee. Most brokers “are happy to rebate” such fees, according to Smith, because most are already getting 鈥渂oth sides of the commission鈥� on deals conducted on its platform. Down the line, it also plans to offer financing on deals (it’s already partnered with a title company) and charge for some of its data products.

Currently, Biproxi has 100,000 listings on its site and Smith hopes to double that number by month鈥檚 end. It also has roughly 4,000 registered users and about 15 employees, a number the company expects to grow to about 50 by year鈥檚 end by bringing a currently-outsourced technology team 鈥渋n house.鈥�

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