EQUITYMULTIPLE, a commercial real estate investment startup based in New York and San Francisco, today announced it has raised $3 million in venture funding in 2018 -- a period of rapid growth for the firm. The funding round was anchored by lead investor Ken Pasternak, a former Board Member of NASDAQ and founder of electronic trading firm Knight Trading, which he took public in 1998. Additional investors included a consortium of leading real estate and finance executives.

To date, individual investors have invested in over $700 million in commercial real estate transactions through the firm's online platform. The company expects to top $1 billion later this year. Total investment through the platform has more than doubled already in 2018.

EQUITYMULTIPLE is an emerging leader in the rising class of "direct investing" platforms, providing investors unprecedented access to professionally-vetted private real estate investments across property types and risk profiles. To date, the firm has focused on building key partnerships within the real estate industry and positioning itself for sustainable growth, while organically growing its investor base. It now plans to use the funds to fuel growth and innovation by scaling its team, expanding its investment offerings and enhancing its technology platform.

"Traditionally real estate investing has been largely limited to institutions, which has caused enormous market inefficiencies and unfulfilled demand among individual investors," said co-founder and CEO Charles Clinton. "Our goal is to make commercial real estate part of every investor's portfolio, providing diversification outside of the public markets to an asset class with historically strong uncorrelated returns. This funding round brings us one step closer to that goal."

EQUITYMULTIPLE's platform is powered by a combination of proprietary technology and institutional real estate investment expertise -- distinguishing the firm from both traditional real estate investors, as well as real estate crowdfunding sites. The firm received its seed funding from Mission Capital, a leading real estate capital markets firm that has helped close over $70 billion in transactions.

"Our strategy has always been to partner with top institutional firms and executives within the real estate industry. This latest investment from Mr. Pasternak reinforces this approach and reflects the strong reputation EquityMultiple has among the leading minds in commercial real estate and financial technology," said co-founder and CIO Marious Sjulsen. "We are well on our way towards disrupting the distribution model for real estate investing by providing our growing investor base with access to curated private market opportunities."

About EQUITYMULTIPLE

EQUITYMULTIPLE is a commercial real estate investment startup that provides individual investors with unprecedented online access to professionally-vetted private real estate transactions. EQUITYMULTIPLE believes real estate investing can be transformed through technology by providing individuals a new level of transparent and efficient access to tailored private market transactions.

For more information, please visit https://www.equitymultiple.com/.