Digital Mortgage startup Tomo raises $40m to streamline home buying

Tomo Networks, a fintech startup that will improve the homebuying experience, initially as a digital mortgage and transaction company, announced it has raised a seed round of $40 million led by Ribbit Capital, NFX and Zigg Capital.

Despite decades of focus by companies looking to improve the real estate transaction experience, buying a home and all the important steps associated with it remain time-consuming, confusing and stressful. At the heart of this stress is the mortgage process. Tomo will be a digital mortgage company with a full platform to streamline home buying for both the consumer and their real estate agent.

Tomo will use an approach that is human-driven, technology-enabled and ambitious in its scope. Tomo was founded by former Zillow executives Greg Schwartz and Carey Armstrong. The founding team also includes alumni of USAA, MINI (BMW Group), eXp Realty, Goldman Sachs, Nordstrom and Convoy.

Greg Schwartz, CEO and Co-founder Tomo said: Buying a home is a lousy experience. Despite years of tech companies focusing on real estate, the overall process has not changed enough. We dream about the life we will build in our new home, yet dread the process of getting there. Tomo will give us what we want and deserve: the efficiency of a tech-enabled real estate transaction and the intimacy of having a team of elite professionals on our side."

Nick Huber, Partner at Ribbit Capital said: "We are very excited to invest in the idea and team behind Tomo. Our mission is to invest in the leading teams and companies who are transforming the financial services industry. This area is ripe for change and this team has the revolutionary energy, industry know-how and experience to get it done."

Pete Flint, General Partner at NFX said: "I have known this team for more than a decade and they will deliver on the movement my team and I drove when we founded Trulia, to delight customers with transformational digital experiences related to the real estate transaction. It's time to get it done and NFX is excited to partner with this exceptional team."

Institutional investors include: Ribbit Capital, NFX, Zigg Capital and SVB Capital. Individual investors include hedge fund luminaries Alex Sacerdote, Kurt Mobley & Eli Weinberg; former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff; and Ted Ackerley of Seattle-based Ackerley Partners LLC.

www.tomonetworks.com