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I used to work at a real estate tech website, and for a while there, much of what I thought about during the workday was “proptech,” the convergence of property and new technology.
It’s also what the founders of EliseAI have spent the better part of the last 7 years working on, as well — quietly designing AI systems (before the generative AI boom) to allow rental property owners and managers to better communicate with and respond to tenants using autonomous chatbots and voicebots.
EliseAI’s AI assistant is “used by 70% of the top 50 rental housing operators and owners in the country,” according to co founder and CEO Minna Song, who joined VentureBeat for a video conference interview several days ago.
That’s equal to about one out of every 12 multifamily apartment units in the United States.
It’s not just EliseAI’s big homeowner and property manager customers that believe in the company though: today, it announced a $75 million Series D funding round led by Sapphire Ventures at a valuation of more than $1 billion, cementing its position as the newest unicorn in the Big Apple.
Founded in 2017 by Song and CTO Tony Stoyanov, EliseAI has recently expanded into bringing AI into healthcare communications as well, training models to act as voicebots that can receive calls from patients and schedule appointments on behalf of doctors and medical services providers.
Technology and growth
EliseAI’s growth trajectory has been nothing short of remarkable. Since its Series C round last year, the company has seen its Annual Recurring Revenue increase by more than 2.5 times.
“What we do is we sell an AI assistant that automates communication and daily operations for housing operators all over the United States,” Song told VentureBeat. “Our AI automates about 90% of communication with renters across all communication channels.””
The company’s AI platform — powered by “leading proprietary models” from OpenAI and other companies, as well as custom AI models — offers a comprehensive suite of tools for property management:
- LeasingAI: Manages prospects 24/7, boosting lease conversion rates by over 125% with 90% work automation.
- ResidentAI: Handles resident communications, increasing engagement by 40% and reducing delinquencies by 50%.
- EliseCRM: A free, advanced CRM system serving as a central hub for prospect and resident information.
What sets EliseAI apart is its multi-modal approach, offering AI interactions via email, SMS, webchat, and voice, with a particular emphasis on its unique VoiceAI capability.
It’s not just cool technology for tech’s sake — the efficiency and lower overhead (that is, fewer human employees and turnover or loss of institutional knowledge when changing employees) that EliseAI’s assistant provides actually translates to cost savings by its customers.
“On average, our customers decrease overdue payments by 50%, so they can actually collect more money, which allows them to be able to do things like pay mortgages on time,” Song noted.
Expansion into healthcare
In 2023, EliseAI leveraged its success in housing to enter the healthcare sector.
Its HealthAI offering automates non-clinical tasks such as patient conversations, appointment scheduling, and billing.
“Doctors have very specific appointment structures, and people lose a lot of money by not being able to kind of fill appointment slots, or people reschedule and cancel all the time,” Song explained. “You want to make sure someone’s schedule is all filled up, because that’s most efficient for the doctor.”
The HealthAI system is fully HIPAA complaint and boasts the same SOC 2 security compliance of the real estate offerings, but is also “hooked up into the EMR systems, electronic medical record systems,” according to Song.
The system boasts an impressive 95% handling rate for patient inquiries, operating around the clock with no wait times.
Funding allocation and future plans
The fresh capital will be used to expand EliseAI’s team, drive product innovation, and strengthen industry partnerships. The company currently employs over 130 people at its New York City headquarters and is actively hiring across various departments.
Cathy Gao, Partner at Sapphire Ventures and new EliseAI board member, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership: “EliseAI’s multi-modal AI platform has revolutionized customer interactions in the housing industry, we believe setting the standard for how purpose-built AI can deliver clear, measurable results with high accuracy and compliance to industry regulations.”
The next phase
As one of the few vertical-focused AI companies operating at scale, EliseAI is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for AI solutions in both the housing and healthcare industries. With its new unicorn status and substantial funding, the company is poised for continued growth and innovation in the coming years.
The success of EliseAI underscores the potential for AI to transform traditional industries, improving efficiency and service quality while addressing critical operational challenges. As the company continues to expand its reach and capabilities, it will be interesting to watch how it shapes the future of housing and healthcare operations through the power of artificial intelligence.
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