Aloft, a Seattle-based company, recently announced a $20 million Series A funding round, led by Fifth Wall, a capital firm focused on technologies for the global real estate industry, with additional investment from Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley that led Aloft's seed round, the company announced in a release.
This brings Aloft's total funds raised to $25 million. The company, currently operating in the Seattle and Portland metro areas, will use the funds to expand its US operations, invest in its proprietary workflow technology and expand its workforce of appraisers and technology engineers.
"The current home appraisal process is inefficient and lacks consistent quality, which creates issues for people trying to close a real estate transaction," Aloft CEO Travis Soukup said in the release. "An appraisal report is the cornerstone of financing a home but getting a quality report done on time is one of the largest pain points for lenders and borrowers.”
Most appraisers, according to the release, operate as sole proprietors. Aloft brings appraisers together to collaborate and leverage cutting-edge technology.
Soukup acknowledged that “it's all about combining the best appraisers with the best technology.”
"The appraisal industry is in deep need of evolution,” Dan Wenhold, a partner with Fifth Wall, said. "We chose to invest in Aloft because the vision is clear. We see significant potential with this partnership and are excited for what's to come."