Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has a new business venture. The son of a wealthy Jewish Brazilian family is one of a number of people who have invested $2 million in the startup property search portal 99.co.
Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital has also invested in the new company which has raised $2.7 million to date.
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The company will use the new funds to expand its operations into new areas.
99.co currently lists apartments for rent or purchase in Singapore, for now. Its novelty lies in the fact that it generates results based on importance and location, not just from copied classified listings.
CEO of 99.co Mr Darius Cheung said of the new investment, “It also gives us the resource to go out and put up a good fight in the market with the new system. Our goal is definitely to be focused on Singapore, we are 100 per cent focused on Singapore and our customers, users in Singapore. We want to reinvent the market that way and then we will think about how we do the next part of expansion in other markets next year.”
Saverin said, “When I was trying to find a home for myself here in Singapore a few years ago, 99.co didn’t exist and I naturally explored all web and mobile tools available, and I was nothing short of disappointed. Were the listings real and available? Was the pricing data and other details accurate? Why so many duplicates? It was a high-friction and time consumer experience that had to change99.co has the superstar team needed to tackle this incredibly hard but important issue.”
“Not only is finding a home the biggest financial decision most people would ever make, it is also one of the most important milestones in life for one to create the right environment to develop a career, to build a marriage and to nurture a family and children – it affects everything! I’m very excited to see the growth of 99.co and it’s a clear indicator that it is on the right path to create the solution to truly help people live better.”
