Finda Invests in AI Real Estate Firms... Villas and Commercial Properties Also Used as Loan Collateral

Utilizing AI-Based Real Estate Price Estimation Model
Using Villas and Commercial Buildings as Collateral Beyond Apartments
Strategic Move to Expand Non-Face-to-Face Mortgage Loan Sector

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Loan brokerage platform Finda has made an investment in an AI-based real estate valuation specialized startup. This move is interpreted as a strategy to increase the accuracy and scope of loans by expanding collateral targets from apartments to villas and commercial buildings.

According to industry sources on the 7th, a Series A investment is underway for ‘Gonggan-ui Gachi’ (Value of Space), a real estate information and appraisal service company. The target investment amount is 8 billion KRW, with a post-investment valuation of approximately 38 billion KRW. Despite the current downturn in investment sentiment, this is considered a significant amount for a Series A round. Finda decided to invest in this company earlier this year along with Korea Investment Partners, SBI Investment, and Woomi Global. An industry insider stated, “The investment was made not only for Gonggan-ui Gachi’s fundraising but also because there is strong enthusiasm for investment from venture capitalists (VCs) and others in the industry.”

The competitiveness of Gonggan-ui Gachi’s real estate information service, which utilizes its AI-based automated appraisal model and technology, is seen as having a synergistic effect with Finda’s loan brokerage business. Through this, it is interpreted as a strategy to expand the loan brokerage portfolio from personal unsecured loans for office workers and freelancers to fully non-face-to-face secured loans.

Gonggan-ui Gachi provides AI-estimated prices for all residential and commercial real estate nationwide based on the world’s first developed AI real estate automated appraisal model. Using its automated appraisal model and data algorithms, it also offers automated commercial real estate price analysis services to KB Financial Group and Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI).

Finda expects to aggressively target the relatively ‘blue ocean’ mortgage loan market in the loan brokerage sector, which was previously focused on unsecured loans, through collaboration with Gonggan-ui Gachi. Mortgage loans tend to be larger in amount and more complex in process compared to unsecured loans, leading customers to prefer face-to-face procedures. In particular, the limitation of banks providing non-face-to-face loans is that the collateral is restricted to apartments. However, Finda plans to incorporate collateral data such as villas and commercial buildings, which have not been utilized in non-face-to-face loan services, into its loan comparison service through this opportunity.

Finda’s investment in data-driven analytics companies is not limited to Gonggan-ui Gachi. In July, it acquired 100% equity in ‘Openup,’ a big data-based commercial district analysis startup. With the three-way competition among loan brokerage platforms Toss, Kakao Pay, and Finda, and the recent entry of Naver Financial, Finda appears to be pursuing differentiation through data-driven competitiveness. A Finda representative explained, “This investment is a strategic decision to maximize the service value of each company,” adding, “We will enhance loan accuracy, expand our scope, and strengthen our competitiveness.”