Israeli startup Localize may not be a household name yet, but if you rented or purchased real estate in Israel in the last few years, then you probably visited the company’s flagship product -- the Madlan website. Localize recently announced a $25 million Series C funding round, led by Pitango Growth, with participation from Maor Investment, Celesta, Mizrahi-Tefahot, and existing private investors. The startup has raised nearly $70 million to date.

More than just Madlan

In Israel we may know Localize mainly because of Madlan, but the system behind it and other company products is based on AI and Big Data technologies. These help collect and process information from thousands of different databases, configuring them in different parameters. According to the company, the system helps people outside of the real estate sphere understand if a particular property is suited to their demands.

Among other perks, the company’s smart system displays information which is usually left off the online ‘for sale’ ads, such as natural light, additional construction options, elevator availability, education system qualities in the area, surrounding parks, proximity to highways, traffic, and more. In 2020, the company launched Hunter, an AI service for real estate agencies.Through the system agencies can seamlessly manage their clients and processes completely digitally, and hunt for property according to each of their clients’ priorities and budgets.

Unlike Madlan, the rest of Localize’s product suite is for the B2B market. According to the company, hundreds of thousands of private customers have signed up for Hunter, where Localize enjoys a commission on every successful deal closed via the platform.

Localize was founded in 2012 by CEO Asaf Rubin, who previously led the algorithm development team at Taboola, and Amir Weinstock -- the former CTO, who took Rubin to court after claiming to have been (allegedly) edged out of the company. Currently, the Israeli startup has a roster of 130 employees, based out of Israel, New York, and Kiev.