The global real estate market may generate billions of dollars each year, but processes behind the scenes have remained outdated. The three IDF Unit 8200 graduates who founded Agora – a platform that today manages over $280 billion in real estate assets for about 70,000 investors – wanted to change this reality.
Bar Mor, CEO and co-founder of Agora, and son of real estate entrepreneur Hanan Mor, grew up in the family real estate orbit, but chose to forge an independent path. Together with army buddies Noam Kahan, Agora CTO, and Lior Dolinski , Agora CPO, he identified a significant technological gap in this tradition-bound industry. The company, which was founded in late 2019, grew rapidly and, according to Mor, has reached close to 1,000 customers in less than five years. According to market estimates, Agora's annual recurring revenue (ARR) is $15-20 million, with annual growth of over 100%. The business model is based on an annual subscription derived from the volume of funds managed. "The subscription can start at $9,000 per year and go up to $500,000," explains Mor. Additional services, such as payment transfers, for example, are priced according to a transaction fee model.
In Israel, the accepted real estate investment model is the purchase of specific apartments but the model is different in the US and other international markets. Large real estate companies recruit investor groups, with each holding a certain percentage of a property, not in a specific apartment. The companies rent out the apartments and are responsible for transferring to each investor their proportional share of the income, sending reports and handling tax aspects. The complexity increases when dozens of properties and hundreds of investors are involved, creating significant logistical challenges.
The product – an integrated digital platform
Agora’s system comprises two complementary parts: an investor portal and a management system. The portal provides investors with an interface similar to a bank application that displays all the properties they own, financial performance, project updates and yield analyses in a transparent, clear fashion. At the same time, the real estate companies are given a system that allows them to manage their financial activities with thousands of investors in an orderly way. Agora’s technology also makes it possible to automate processes that previously had been entirely manual. At the click of a button, the system calculates the amounts due to each investor according to percentage of ownership, clauses in contracts, taxation aspects and other parameters.
Beyond the basic solution, the company is developing an additional layer of complementary financial services. As of today, Agora also provides payment and currency conversion services, which enable automatic transfers to investors from different countries. It also assists in issuing standard tax reports, which can save complex dealings with external tax consultants. According to the company, in the last year alone, over $150 million in transfers passed through its system.
Although the market for real estate investment management solutions is growing, few players offer a comprehensive solution. Agora has two main competitors: Juniper Square and AppFolio, both US-based companies. AppFolio is a public company valued at about $8 billion, but investment management is only a small part of its operations. Juniper Square, which began in the real estate sector, has since expanded its activities to all types of investment funds, from venture capital funds to hedge funds. Agora's competitive advantage is in its exclusive focus on real estate, allowing the company to develop dedicated solutions precisely targeted to the real estate sector, and to integrate different parts of the system's activity. This integration creates a competitive advantage; customers working with the platform tend to stay for a long time, as the system becomes a core infrastructure in both financial management and investor relations.
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Looking ahead
Agora’s clients in Israel include Altshuler Shaham, Harel, Migdal, and Electra Real Estate, with most Israeli clients managing investments abroad. In the US, the company's core market, it has hundreds of clients.
Having completing a $34 million financing round led by Qumra Capital last year, Agora is expanding its operations into new markets. It recently entered Australia, and is expanding into Latin America by hiring local staff in Colombia. The company is also relocating several Israeli employees to the US to strengthen its presence in its main market. "We are focusing not only on geographical expansion but also on deepening penetration of new products among existing customers," explains Mor.
The long-term vision includes expanding into additional complementary financial services, including trust accounts, loans, and insurance. The goal is to engage players already using our services and build on that by adding new layers of service each time. Along with business growth, he says, the company takes care to develop a strong organizational culture. "We want to be a workplace where people come in the morning with a smile," concludes Mor. "The bar is high, but at the same time, we always have fun doing it, and this creates a strong culture that supports continued growth."
- Founders: Bar Mor, Lior Dolinski and Noam Kahan
- Investors: Aleph Fund, Insight Partners, Qumra Capital
- Capital raised: $64 million
- Founded: 2019
- Employees: 160-170
- Location in Israel: Tel Aviv (30 Kalisher Street), Jerusalem, offices in New York and Australia
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on April 27, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
