Minna Song.
Minna Song and Stoyan Stoyanov
Co-founder and CEO; co-founder and CTO at EliseAI
Artificial intelligence can talk the real estate talk, according to EliseAI, a conversational AI communications platform for the housing industry. And, since its founding in Manhattan in 2017, the company has walked the walk in becoming a New York City-based unicorn.
Led by Minna Song and Stoyan Stoyanov, EliseAI announced in August that it raised $75 million in a Series D round, bringing its valuation to more than $1 billion.
While many companies claim to use AI in various forms and functions, EliseAI has based its business on AI technology that automates 90 percent of property management workflows, streamlines prospect and resident communications, and gives property management teams additional time to focus on delivering in-
person experiences, according to the company. EliseAI claims that its natural language processing capabilities deliver human-like responses to prospects and residents, incorporating information from prior interactions for personalization and improvement.
“Housing is a basic need for all humans, and that’s why we all work in this industry, and why we’re focused on the residential sector,” Song said in a Commercial Observer interview at the time of the funding announcement. “I think that it’s a really underserved market by technology and the importance of housing is why we need to focus on making it efficient. [Landlords] have major problems, so you need to provide that which is really solving the biggest operational challenges — the core day-to-day things that they need to get done, like keeping the lights on versus a lot of nice-to-have features. I think that’s been a big factor in why people have adopted us, especially in industries that don’t spend a lot on technology in general.”
The rapidly growing company of 175 employees boasts AI designed to work across asset types such as multifamily, student housing and affordable housing, with products deployed in more than 2.8 million units across the United States.
Among its customers are 400 different property management companies and owners, including Asset Living, AvalonBay Communities, Bozzuto, EQR, Greystar and Invitation Homes, which are among the largest owners in the U.S.
