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Houzz, a leading multipurpose website with a strong community concerning architecture, interior design and home renovation has almost been finalised to get a funding of $400 million which values the company at a whopping $4 billion.
The latest funding is being led by Iconiq Capital, an investment advisory firm from San Francisco, California headed by an Indian from South Africa named Divesh Makan. A major share of Multi-Billionaire, Mark Zuckerberg‘s of money is managed by Iconiq Capital. Also, former investors, GGV Capital and Sequoia Capital have increased their share in this funding round.
Houzz was found in 2009 by CEO Adi Tatarko and her husband Alon Cohen and since then it has been helping its users find home decoration solutions which alleviate them to refurbish their homes in an elegant way. It also provides its users with some tools for purchasing furniture and fixtures. Houzz has spread its market reach globally with a major share being from the U.S., U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Denmark.
Houzz, which has over 40 million active users, makes most of its money through paid listings for various interior designers, architects and others who provide services related to the home renovation. However, recently it has been burrowing itself into a plainspoken business where merchants can sell their furniture and other decor commodities found in photos. The profit model is based on the commission company makes off because of these sales.
This was done with the addition of Augmented Reality and deep learning based products to its website and mobile apps. It has included a deep learning based system which intelligently analyses the home photos added to the site and compares them with tables, lamps, mirrors, sofas, cupboards or plumbing components in the database to give you the best match possible. Also, its basic AR mode allows you to see how a particular product will look at a particular space in your house.
In its latest round of funding which was held in 2014, the company was valued at $2.3 billion followed by a $165 million Series D funding led by Sequoia Capital. In this round, Houzz’s share price has markedly increased from $7.49 per share to $11.28 per share.
