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New investors , , and put money in the round in addition to existing backers , , and .

As part of the financing, BlackRock has taken a ”significant minority stake” in iCapital Network, which will operate as an independent company, the company said. I was curious as to what it meant by that the company said it “has a broad based of strategic investors, rather than being backed by any one large investor.”

New York-based iCapital Network – which has developed a distribution, administration and workflow platform for high net-worth access to alternative assets – had previously only raised a total of $36.9 million in known funding since its 2013 inception, bringing its total raised to $183 million, according to Crunchbase . Previous backers include , , and , among others.

Major growth

The company has seen impressive growth, particularly in the last year. In 2019, iCapital said it upped the assets it services from $8 billion to $46.6 billion across more than 470 funds, 100,000 underlying accounts and 55 white label partnerships. Specifically, iCapital said it saw $12.1 billion in organic platform growth as well as growth as a result of its strategic partnership acquisitions. In the first half of 2019, iCapital acquired the alternative investment feeder fund platforms of both and .��The company also expanded its senior leadership during the year, and added nearly 100 employees to bring its total headcount to 218.

In a statement, iCapital Network CEO said the raise is indicative of the fact that asset and wealth management industries “have embraced the need for an independent, automated, transparent approach to alternatives.”

iCapital says it was founded with the goal of making high-quality alternative investments accessible to wealth advisors and their high-net-worth investors, and enabling fund managers to reach new sources of capital.��The firm’s flagship platform offers advisors and their high net worth clients access to a curated menu of private equity, hedge funds, and private credit investing opportunities “at lower minimums with a full suite of due diligence in a secure digital environment.”

Additionally, asset managers and banks leverage iCapital’s tech-enabled services to streamline and scale their private investments operational infrastructure by using white labels versions of its technology.

In other words, the platform is designed to streamline access, ease operational burdens and improve the user experience. Its target users range from advisors seeking to incorporate alternative investments in their clients’ portfolios to asset managers looking to scale their fundraising efforts to wealth management firms seeking a technology platform to enhance or replace existing systems.

The company says it currently has nearly 4,000 registered network members that include financial advisors, family offices and individual investors. iCapital also has 57 white label partnerships.

Expansion ahead

iCapital says it plans to use the new capital to enhance its platform technology and expand functionality. It also plans to diversify its investment offerings and global investors base. Additionally, the company intends to continue expanding globally across North America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East by increasing its partnerships with wealth management players.

In addition to the investment, Ping An and other investors have said they either plan to partner with or have already partnered with iCapital to leverage its proprietary technology. The goal is to use the technology to help manage the end-to-end operations of their private market activities.

, chairman and CEO of Ping An, said his firm is excited to partner with the iCapital team on its next stage of growth, as it sees “enormous opportunities to open up access to alternatives in Asia and beyond.”

BlackRock COO said that as financial advisers explore the role alternatives can play in diversified portfolios, “iCapital’s leading open-architecture platform provides technology to streamline, automate and facilitate investments in private markets.”

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led the San Francisco-based company’s $20 million Series A raise, which included participation from and . Landing also announced a $10 million debt facility.

With this funding, Landing has raised a total of $45 million. Former Shipt CEO put in $15 million of his own money to get the company off the ground last year.

His premise behind starting the company was that the dynamics of renting had been “essentially unchanged for decades.” (, a grocery delivery service started in Alabama, was for $550 million in 2017.) Smith calls Landing an example of an emerging category: “Living as a Service.”

In a , Smith wrote how Landing was born out of his own moving experience:

“In 2016, as we were scaling Shipt nationally, my family and I moved to San Francisco. When I arrived, I was immediately struck by how difficult it was to rent an apartment. From countless phone calls and coordinating movers to furnishing an empty space and setting up utilities, it was a massive inconvenience and extremely tedious. Of course, I’m not alone in feeling that frustration.”

How it works

Landing works directly with property managers and apartment owners to offer studio, one and two-bedroom apartments in neighborhoods with features such as easy access to public transportation and shopping. Renters pay $199 a year for the ability to pick up and move whenever they want within the Landing network. They only need to provide a 30-day notice if moving to a non-Landing property. Otherwise, only a three-day notice (when moving to another Landing property) is needed.

The company says it takes care of all the hassles that come with renting, such as setting up utilities. Users move into a fully furnished apartment that has “a kitchen stocked with essentials” and an on-call concierge service. Basically, the apartments are turn-key and move in-ready. Think all-inclusive for apartments. (Landing even designed its own line of furniture.)

“We’re seeing a growing mobile workforce in need of more flexible living solutions that empower them to embrace opportunities as they arise–no matter where they’re located on the map,” he said. “Landing is the first company addressing this.”

The company has brought about 300 units online since it was founded last year.

Landing plans to use its new capital in part to further expand into new markets. Currently, it’s in nine cities: Austin, Birmingham, Ala., Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C. By the end of 2020, the company’s goal is to be offering apartments to its members in 30 cities.

“You should never be locked in a lease,” Smith told me. “Renters should have freedom and flexibility. Isn’t that the point of renting?”

Investor POV

For Greycroft Co-founder and Partner, Landing is unique in its flexible living membership offering and it meets an important need.

“People’s needs for living are changing–they want to balance flexibility, stability and quality,” he said.

It should be noted that Greycroft also backed Smith at Shipt. As did Maveron. And this funding proves that VCs often back founders as much as they do ideas.

“Bill’s proven success creating premier consumer businesses, such as Shipt, brings us great confidence in his ability to introduce and scale an exceptional product to the market, breathing new life into the real estate industry,” said , co-founder and partner of Maveron, in a written statement.

Landing is not the first flexible apartment startup we’ve covered. In October, I wrote about how New York-based , a tech-equipped apartment rental company, raised $50 million in a Series B round co-led by and .

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