Flyhomes Acquires AI Startup, Launches Home Search Portal

Flyhomes is betting that AI is the future of real estate, acquiring startup ZeroDown and launching a new home search portal.

“Flyhomes AI” was developed over the last two years and brings “conversational” real estate search and research to the market.

Its AI is trained on nearly 1,000 data points from different sources, which Flyhomes says gives it vastly more information than its competitors. Consumers can ask questions they would typically need a local real estate agent to answer and get nuanced responses.

Buyers can ask open-ended questions like “Is this home a good deal compared to others in the neighborhood,” or “How is T-Mobile’s coverage in this home?”

Flyhomes AI will compete with other real estate portal companies like Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, and Homes.com. It is currently active in 28 states and Washington, D.C.

“Historically, buyers have had unlimited access to agents without ever needing to compensate them for their time. The National Association of Realtors’ settlement of the commission lawsuits mandates that buyers now sign a contract to compensate their agents directly before touring homes,” said Tushar Garg, co-founder and CEO of Flyhomes.

“The new rule, which goes into effect August 17th, is the most significant change to real estate in over 100 years… [L]uckily AI is reaching technical maturity at just the right time to be the solution to this problem. This confluence of events has us confident that the winner of the ‘portal wars’ is going to be the one with the best technology and deepest insights for consumers.”

ZeroDown’s co-founders, Laks Srini and Abhijeet Dwivedi, oversaw the product’s integration. They are now part of Flyhomes as chief technology officer and chief growth officer. ZeroDown is an AI startup focused on revolutionizing real estate through technology and was backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

The pair previously served as executives at Zenefits, a SaaS HR platform.

Launched in 2016, Seattle-based Flyhomes gives homebuyers the power of all-cash and “buy before you sell” offers to get ahead in the competitive market. It has closed on more than $6 billion worth of homes at prices ranging from $150,000 to $7 million.

Last year, it acquired Home Sale Assured, a platform known for its Guaranteed Backup Contract, which allows homeowners to purchase their next house before selling their own.