🏡 Ridley Raises $6.4 Million Seed Round, Led by Fifth Wall, to Launch Commission-Free Real Estate Marketplace

Ridley, the artificial intelligence-powered real estate platform committed to eliminating costly commission fees for homeowners, today announced it has closed a $6.4 million seed funding round. The investment was spearheaded by Fifth Wall, recognized as the world’s largest investment firm focused on technology for the built environment.

The round saw strong participation from a coalition of venture firms, including 1984 Ventures, 1Sharpe Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, Aglae Ventures, and Park Rangers Capital, along with key angel investors who are executives from major technology companies like Stripe and Google.

This capital infusion will enable Ridley to accelerate its mission to re-architect the real estate transaction around the consumer. A significant portion of the funding is earmarked for the launch of Ridley’s new buy-side experience, which will grant buyers exclusive access to private, for-sale, and “soon to be listed” properties identified through proprietary predictive analytics. Simultaneously, the company will enhance its AI-driven seller tools and expand its network of Ridley Preferred Agents to offer commission-free expert help on demand.

Challenging the $100 Billion Commission Model

Ridley is directly challenging the traditional commission-based brokerage model, which Mike Chambers, CEO and Founder of Ridley, estimates costs American families up to $100 billion a year.

“The current real estate market was not built around consumers,” said Chambers. “This funding round will allow us to keep building a complete, lower-cost, consumer-led experience. By expanding into the buy-side and introducing new features, we’re creating a modern marketplace where both buyers and sellers benefit from real value, instead of losing out on profit from traditional fees.”

The platform’s early traction provides strong evidence of consumer demand for this disruption. Since its launch on July 15, Ridley has generated over $4.6 billion in lead volume and currently lists more than $350 million in private listings. With 57 homes already sold, averaging just 33 days on market and achieving a remarkable 98.3% list-to-sold ratio, the results underscore the effectiveness of Ridley’s AI-powered, commission-free approach.

Dan Wenhold, Partner at Fifth Wall, affirmed the firm’s conviction in Ridley’s disruptive model. “Ridley is redefining what a modern real estate transaction should look like. By stripping out unnecessary fees and putting AI directly in the hands of consumers, they are unlocking a level of transparency and efficiency this industry has never been able to deliver. What Mike and his team are building isn’t just a better user experience, it’s a fundamental re-architecture of the housing marketplace.”

Editorial Opinion: The Architecture of Trust and Efficiency

Ridley’s successful seed round, particularly the backing of Fifth Wall—an organization deeply integrated into the real estate ecosystem—validates the platform’s vision for a commission-free future. This is not simply a tech upgrade for real estate; it is a structural innovation rooted in aligning incentives between the marketplace and the homeowner. By leveraging sophisticated AI as a dedicated transaction guide and providing on-demand expert support (the Ridley Preferred Agents) without mandatory commission, Ridley is addressing the inherent conflict of interest that has long defined traditional brokerage.

The company’s expansion into the buy-side, armed with predictive analytics to identify “soon to be listed” properties, is a crucial move. This creates a high-value incentive for buyers to adopt the platform, directly feeding the seller-side listing volume and establishing a true network effect. Ridley is positioning itself as the definitive modern marketplace, where data transparency replaces information asymmetry and where efficiency translates directly into consumer savings. The early metrics—high sales velocity and strong list-to-sold ratios—demonstrate that this consumer-first, commission-free model is highly functional and sustainable, setting a course to fundamentally shift consumer expectations for buying and selling homes in the U.S.

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