Fundrise is a Washington, D.C.–based financial technology company founded in 2010 that operates an online investment platform. Fundrise has been labeled as the first company to successfully crowdfund investment into the real estate market.
, Fundrise had originated approximately $1.1 billion in both equity and debt investments deployed across approximately $4.9 billion of real estate property.
By May 2014 the company reported to have facilitated $15 million in investments involving 1,000+ investors. One of Fundrise's most publicized investments came in January 2015 when it began offering bonds for the construction of 3 World Trade Center, the location of the third tallest tower at the site of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. The initial offering was for $2 million of the $5 million worth of bonds purchased by Fundrise for the financing of the $1 billion project. Bonds were offered for $5,000 each with a 5% tax-free gross annual return for five years.
Fundrise also raised more capital in its first-round of Series A investment than any other crowdfunding company, totaling $38 million. Funding was led by Chinese social networking company Renren who invested $31 million of the total $38 million. Additional Series A investors include Guggenheim Partners, Justin Elghanayan of Rockrose Development Corporation, and James Ratner of Forest City Enterprises. By February 2015, Fundrise had commitments from six institutional investors for an additional $100 million in investment into the company's real estate offerings. In October 2015, co-founder and president Daniel Miller left the company to begin his new venture, Steward, an online lending platform for regenerative agriculture.
In February 2016, Fundrise terminated its senior accountant for allegedly attempting to extort over $1 million from the enterprise over a claim that "the company acted inappropriately concerning two real estate deals." The accountant denied the allegations of extortion and claimed that the termination was retaliation for reporting "serious fraudulant behavior." The company denied the claims and hired an outside audit firm to conduct an investigation into the allegations, which ultimately concluded there was no reasonable basis to the allegations.
The Fundrise eREIT offering provides prospective investors with the opportunity to invest in an intended portfolio of properties across the United States for a minimum of $1,000. The aim of the eREIT is to use new technology to give both accredited and unaccredited investors the option to invest in U.S. real estate. This financial offering was made possible by the expansion of Regulation A under the JOBS Act.
The company subsequently opened a second eREIT, the Fundrise Equity REIT, in February 2016.
In December 2016, the Fundrise Income eREIT was the first company to raise $50 million, the maximum amount allowed under Regulation A. Later in December 2016, the Fundrise Growth eREIT became the second ever issuer to raise $50 million pursuant to Regulation A.
eREIT launch
eFund launch
Amazon HQ2
2021
Awards
See also
Further reading
External links
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