Loft tried to be the Opendoor of Brazil — buying and selling apartments in São Paulo and Rio using technology to speed up the notoriously slow Brazilian real estate process. The company raised $700 million and was valued at $2.9 billion. Then reality hit: Brazilian real estate transactions take months due to bureaucratic complexity, and the company was burning through cash faster than it could flip properties. Loft pivoted from iBuying to a marketplace model, laid off hundreds, and is still figuring out whether tech can fix Brazilian real estate.
Founded
2018
HQ
São Paulo, Brazil
Total Raised
$700 million
Founder
Mate Pencz, Florian Hagenbuch
Status
Private
Website
www.loft.com.brTHE ORIGIN STORY
Mate Pencz and Florian Hagenbuch (who also co-founded Loggi, a Brazilian logistics unicorn) saw that buying an apartment in São Paulo took 6+ months due to paperwork, multiple intermediaries, and lack of price transparency. They founded Loft in 2018 to bring technology to this process — starting with an iBuying model (buying apartments directly, renovating them, and reselling) and expanding into a digital marketplace.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Transaction commission model (post-pivot). Originally iBuying (buying and reselling apartments).
Pivoted to a marketplace and transaction platform where Loft facilitates sales between buyers and sellers, earning commissions. Also earns from mortgage origination, insurance, and renovation services.
THE PRODUCTS
Loft Marketplace (buy and sell apartments online). Loft Home Loans (mortgage origination).
Loft Seguros (insurance). Property valuation tools.
Digital transaction management.
HOW THEY GREW
Raising massive capital to acquire market share. Loft raised $700 million from top-tier global investors to buy properties at scale.
The company also acquired Colombian proptech La Haus. After the iBuying model proved unsustainable, Loft pivoted to a capital-light marketplace model.
THE HARD PART
Unit economics of iBuying in Brazil. Buying, renovating, and selling apartments is capital-intensive and risky, especially in a market with high interest rates and slow transaction timelines.
The pivot to a marketplace model reduced cash burn but also reduced Loft's differentiation.
MONEY TRAIL
Series A
2019 · Led by Monashees
$18M raised
Series B
2019 · Led by Andreessen Horowitz
$175M raised
$700M valuation
Series C
2020 · Led by Various
$100M raised
$1.2B valuation
Series D
2021 · Led by Tiger Global
$425M raised
$2.9B valuation
WHO BACKED THEM
Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global, DST Global, and Fifth Wall. a16z led the $425 million Series D in 2021.
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