Obligo

Obligo - izrailskoAmerican fintechstartup-, which deals with specialized crediting in the field of rental. real estate

Obligo finances collateral payments that tenants must make in the long-term lease of real estate. Most companies in this segment work according to the insurance model in case of damage to other people's property. The Obligo product is arranged differently - as a credit line, which is more profitable for users. The service evaluates the tenant's reliability by analyzing his bank accounts using open banking technologies, as well as based on data from traditional credit history bureaus. If the apartment or house has been damaged, Obligo will reimburse the landlord and then re-invoice the tenant.

If the landlord transfers the fee at the end of the lease term, Obligo pays first, and the tenant can repay it in full or in parts.  In order to use Obligo services, companies must connect their bank account to the platform using Open Banking technology and pass financial verification using an artificial intelligence-based underwriting mechanism.

The company was founded in 2018 by brothers Roy Dor and Omri Doryu

History

2021: Attracting $35 million investment

In early November 2021, Obligo announced the attraction of $35 million in investments as part of the Series B round, which was led by 83North. The venture fund Digital Horizon VC, founded by Russians, also took part in the deal. Other investors included HighSage Ventures, 10D, Entrée Capital, Alumni Ventures, MUFG Innovation Partners and La Maison Partners. The parameters of the transaction, including the estimated value of the startup, are not disclosed.

Obligo plans to spend the attracted investments on further growth in the United States and the development of the product line. Obligo's main product is a scoring platform for evaluating tenants. Users open fintech limited data about their bank transactions. Obligo processes them and decides whether a person can rent an apartment without collateral. All financial relations between the landlord and the tenant take place through Obligo.

Founded by Russians, Digital Horizon Foundation invested in the Israeli fintech company Obligo

Obligo grows and develops the product, confirming and sometimes surpassing investor expectations. More and more large landlords are working with the company, who are interested in a transparent environment for financial relations with tenants, "said Alan Waxman, founder and managing partner of Digital Horizon.

For the 12-month period by the beginning of November 2021, Obligo received a total of more than $50 million from investors. The company's decisions are used by more than 100 property owners and managers in the United States.

All financial relations between the landlord and the tenant take place through Obligo. The tenant pays monthly payments for real estate, installments for collateral, if he was still assigned, and subscriptions to the service. If the apartment is damaged due to the fault of the tenants, Obligo immediately pays compensation to the owners, and with tenants who have been exempted from making a deposit, it agrees either on a one-time payment or on interest-free installments. Neither the tenant nor the fintech reimburses for natural wear.

Obligo is a revolutionary and innovative solution, both in terms of the ability to predict the risks of tenants and in terms of an effective debt collection process, says 83North partner David Battress. - We believe that this set of products is becoming an indispensable industry standard in the United States and beyond.[1]

2020: Raising $15.5 million in Round A investments, including from Digital Horizon

Digital Horizon On November 20, 2020, the Foundation announced that it had invested in round A in izrailsko-- American fintechstartup Obligo. The pool of investors who jointly invested $15.5 million in the company also included funds 83North, 10D, Entrée Capital, Viola Credit and other investors. The fintech startup intends to spend the raised funds on the development of the technological platform and scaling the business.

Fund with Russian roots Digital Horizon invested in real estate lending service

By November 2020, Obligo is collaborating with large residential property owners and management companies that lease almost 50 thousand residential premises throughout the United States. The service is available to tenants by subscription worth $10-15. In addition, many landlords use the Obligo service to make their offer more attractive to tenants.^[2]

Financing rental deposits is a very interesting niche. According to experts, $46.5 billion is blocked in the escrow accounts of American tenants today. Obligo has already shown itself well in New York and is ready to scale throughout the United States. The service quickly connects new landlords. Obligo can become the largest player in the market, having won the status of the default solution for all owners of rental real estate and management companies, "said Alan Waxman, managing partner of the Digital Horizon Foundation.

Obligo collaborates with major real estate management companies such as Beam Living (StuyTown), Aimco, Common Living, Olshan Properties, AJ Clarke, Time Equities, Hunter Lafayette, Landmark Communities and others.

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