The real estate market in South Korea is very fragmented, which means people often have to work with dozens of brokers before they find a new home. Founded in 2020 by a former WeWork executive, Dongnae wants to create a centralized base for brokers, serving as a multiple listing system (MLS). Since its first seed round last year, Dongnae has increased its brokerage partners to more than 70. Today the startup announced it has raised a seed extension of $4.1 million, doubling its total raised to $8.2 million.
The new funding was led by investment fund NFX, with participation from returning investors Flybridge and MetaProp, who led Dongnae’s first seed round. NFX general partner Pete Flint, who co-founded Trulia and is a former Zillow board member, will join Dongnae’s board. The startup’s other investors include Goodwater Capital, Maple VC and strategic angel investors in South Korea and the United States.
“It’s an exciting time of growth at our company, and we want to make sure that we are executing our go-to-market plan,” founder Matthew Shampine, who formerly ran WeWork Asia, told about the seed extension. “Pete Flint and [principal] Brittany Yoon at NFX bring an amazing combination of real estate expertise and Korean startup experience that will be invaluable to Dongnae.”
