According to an announcement made Tuesday, OJO Labs, a Canadian real estate platform, has sold OJO Canada to the Royal Bank of Canada in a move it claimed will increase its market share.
Although the financial terms of this deal are not being disclosed by the firm, John Berkowitz, CEO of OJO Canada, said that the OJO Canada sale and a new round of debt financing from Vista Equity Partners have a combined value of almost $200 million.
Berkowitz stated that they have been working together for many years, realizing each other’s superpowers, and doing really special work together. “It was obvious that we had sort of proven all our theses earlier in the year and that both companies wanted all in. We thought it would be most efficient for them to be able own the entire platform here in Canada and have its destiny.”
OJO partnered with Royal Bank of Canada in 2018 to test new production methods in Canada. Royal Bank of Canada is Canada’s largest mortgage lender. OJO Canada, a Canadian real-estate platform, was launched in 2021. This partnership was further extended by the two firms.

Sid Paquette, RBCx’s head, stated that OJO Canada is a powerful real-estate platform that provides a simplified, integrated experience for Canadian homebuyers looking for a more straightforward, seamless experience in this fragmented market. “We are excited to integrate OJO Canada into our larger portfolio of ventures at RBCx and look forward to building on the platform’s unique capabilities. We will continue to build our relationship with Canadian real estate professionals and home buyers, and provide value-added experiences that eliminate the pain points in their entire home buying process.
Berkowitz stated that 96 of the firm’s employees will be making the transition with OJO Canada into Royal Bank of Canada. Karen Starns, OJO Holdings CMO, has been appointed CEO of OJO Canada. Berkowitz will continue to serve as an advisor to OJO Canada’s Board.
OJO Canada will continue to maintain its office space in Austin Texas, where OJO Holdings Corp, is based, as well as its offices in Toronto.
This is OJO’s first major fundraising effort since 2020 when the firm raised $62.5million in a round led Wafra by a Kuwaiti sovereign fund.
Berkowitz stated that April 2020 was our last fundraising round, and that we also bought Movoto. It is difficult to remember the time when the realty industry was frozen and people thought maybe real estate was over for a while. We had been looking at the data and imagining what might happen. We had already had plans and opinions about COVID as far back as January. We were ready to jump on the opportunity and move fast by April, which allowed us to make a huge leap in the industry. Now we are back to the same time. Those who were enjoying the good times without thinking about changes are being forced to retrench, do massive layoffs, and are unable to gain ground. We are able to take this opportunity because we have done all the work.
Berkowitz sees OJO as a great opportunity at a time when the real estate listing space is heating up.
CoStar, a commercial real estate company, announced in January that it was in talks with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to acquire Move Inc., the parent company of Realtor.com. According to a report, Move is valued at $3 billion. This is a figure Spencer Rascoff, Zillow cofounder, called “a little low”. CoStar’s current market capital of $30 billion, however, is higher than Zillow’s.
Berkowitz stated that he plans to use the funds to differentiate OJO from other platforms. OJO provides tools for homeowners to track the home’s value and keep track of home maintenance, which is not possible with Zillow or Realtor.com.
Berkowitz stated that the majority of the business’s focus over the next six-months will be on doubling down on relationships with real estate agents, and real estate teams. “I am proud that our job is to provide data and information to consumers. When they feel comfortable, they will raise their hand to say they need human assistance. We then offer the technology and the right agent to help them on their journey. We must continue to make our real estate partners better and make the relationship between the agent/consumer more successful. That is where the majority of this capital will be spent.