Real Estate Brokerage Rex Raises $40 Million

Digital real estate brokerage Rex has raised $40 million in a Series C funding, bringing its total investment to $115 million. The Austin, Texas-based real estate tech company was founded and still has a large office in Woodland Hills. The company plans to use the money for national expansion and hiring. Rex uses data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence to price homes more accurately than traditional brokerages and targets them to qualified buyers through websites including Zillow, Google, Facebook and Trulia. It also charges a lower commission than traditional real estate brokers. Lynley Sides, co-founder and president of the firm, said it offers buyers and sellers a less expensive, more effective and easier way to conduct the most important transaction of their lives. “In contrast to the outrageously high charges levied by the MLS realtor cartel, Rex helps families preserve their hard-earned savings,” Sides said in a statement. Ken Griffin, founder and chief executive of hedge fund firm Citadel LLC, is a lead investor in the newest round of funding. Other investors in Rex include Scott McNealy, co-founder and former chief executive of Sun Microsystems; Dick Schulze, founder of Best Buy; and Gordon Segal, founder of Crate & Barrel.