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RE data startup CrediFi to shut down following failed sale
NY and Tel Aviv-based analytics firm laid off nearly a quarter of its employees earlier this year
CrediFi, a venture-backed startup that jostled for supremacy in the commercial real estate data and analytics space, is shutting down, The Real Deal has learned.
Employees at the startup, which has raised $29 million to date, were informed of the company’s decision to close on Tuesday, according to sources. A meeting was held at the company’s Tel Aviv headquarters, and employees in the New York office were informed via a virtual meeting.
The company, led by CEO Ely Razin, had been in talks to sell to firms including Moody’s — which has been ramping up its real-estate data business — but no deal ever went through, according to a senior employee, whose account was later confirmed by sources familiar with the talks. CrediFi had laid off a large chunk of its workforce in June, and also lost the company president, Jeff Hendren.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Razin confirmed that CrediFi “will be ceasing services, but will be servicing its clients for the coming several weeks.”
When Razin, a former Thomson Reuters executive, founded CrediFi in 2014, he was entering a crowded market. Giants like CoStar Group have dominated the commercial real estate data world, but CrediFi offered a different product: The database tracks commercial real estate loans and claims to cover $13 trillion in debt deals across the U.S.
CrediFi was using its most recent funding — $6 million in a round led by Liberty Technology Venture Capital II — to expand its recruiting efforts. Sources previously said that Credifi was trying to appeal to the broader financial industry, but the new hires were laid off when they failed to attract clients. (Razin has disputed this account.)
Many struggling real-estate startups have grappled with the choice between selling to another firm or raising more money to avoid a shutdown. In November 2018, RealtyShares, which had raised over $63 million, shut down after failing to find a buyer.
Consolidation has been rampant in the real estate data space. Earlier this year, New York-based Reonomy struck several “exclusive” partnerships with other major data providers. The analytics firm, which in November closed on a $60 million funding round, launched partnerships with CoreLogic, Dun & Bradstreet and Black Knight. Competitors — including Credifi, Moody’s Analytics Reis Network and CoStar — use data from those firms.
CrediFi’s other investors include Maverick Ventures Israel, Japanese real estate investor Mitsui Fudosan, Battery Ventures, Viola Ventures and OurCrowd.
Sylvia Varnham O’Regan contributed reporting.