Melbourne software startup ActivePipe raises $1.8 million in mission to make real estate agents’ lives easier

Melbourne-based real-estate technology startup ActivePipe has raised $1.8 million in a pre-series A round to fund its global expansion, and co-founder and chief executive Ashley Farrugia says having a tight-knit team, a culture-focused company and real-world validation is crucial for startups looking to raise.

Founded in early 2015, ActivePipe offers subscription-based software that uses predictive algorithms to alert real estate agents to which of their contacts is looking at buying or selling property, cutting out the need for cold calling.

The service can also automate communications sent from real estate agents to their customers using machine learning and artificial intelligence: a service Farrugia says will be “fully automated” in the next 12 months.

For Farrugia, the idea for an automated real-estate platform came from learning about the lack of communications between real estate agents and their customers pre and post-transaction.

While he says “the complexity of the space makes it quite difficult” for startups to disrupt the real estate industry, ActivePipe is seeking to change this with value-add offerings that “makes the customer experience better, and improves an agent’s efficiency”.

It seems the real estate world has been eager to adopt the technology, with the startup boasting revenue growth of 100% in the last year and more than 9000 paying users. Read more

Angela Castles - Smart Company - 23 Aug 2017