Redesigning your home doesn’t have to be a royal pain, and you can ease the burden by utilizing the services of companies like Houzz. And now, the company has a lot more than just users on its side — on Friday, Houzz proved just how passionate folks today are about interior design by closing an impressive $400 million funding round. That brings the Palo Alto, California-based company’s valuation to $4 billion. So it’s not just your dream home that’s a unicorn — Houzz itself is as well.
The eight year old company is a Pinterest-esque take on home renovations, giving users a near-overdose of inspiration with seemingly endless photos of products, design trends, and other useful images to interior decorators. But while a company like Pinterest depends on advertising in order to bring in revenue, Houzz actually sells products, and takes a cut of profit.
As of this month, Houzz claims to have 4o million monthly site visitors, and more than 1.5 million home professionals on the platform.
It’s no wonder that companies like Houzz are doing particularly well these days. The real estate and housing industry has become something of a tech darling, with a number of companies like Laurel and Wolf leveraging technology to bring home decorating into the 21st century. Indeed, Houzz has some of these features as well.
Last year, we told you about the company’s new Visual Match tool, a deep learning-powered app for both iOS and Android that promises to make it “easy for people to discover and buy on Houzz the types of products and materials that inspire them in photos.” And with more than 11 million home photos on Houzz and six million products on their Marketplace, there’s more than enough to discover.
This latest funding round is Houzz’s first since its last round in 2014, whereupon it raised $165 million in funding at a $2.3 billion valuation. So if you’re looking to redecorate, Houzz may be the place to start.
