SMS Assist, a mobile and cloud-based multisite property management company, has raised USD150 million in Series D funding from Goldman Sachs Investment Partners. Prior investors in SMS Assist include Insight Venture Partners and Pritzker Group Venture Capital.
SMS Assist offers property owners a cloud-based technology platform and a network of more than 20,000 subcontracted affiliates and an estimated 500,000 technicians to address the maintenance and management needs in their 120,000-location portfolio. The company’s advanced technology platform integrates customer, subcontractor and SMS Assist operations, eliminating unnecessary steps in the maintenance workflow and allowing clients to reduce costs and improve service, quality and overall customer experience.
“SMS Assist’s continued, rapid growth into new markets proves how our technology is bringing savings and profitability to our customers and affiliates. Partnering with Goldman Sachs Investment Partners at this stage opens up extensive possibilities for our technology and fully-managed business solution,” says Michael Rothman, chairman and CEO of SMS Assist. “This investment allows SMS Assist to continue developing our technology and capabilities as we move closer towards our goal of servicing one million unique locations.”
With its proprietary, cloud-based platform and fully-managed business solution, SMS Assist is revolutionising multisite property management for a growing list of national and Fortune 500 companies including Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE: JLL), O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: ORLY) and Colony Starwood Homes (NYSE: SFR).
“This is a huge market opportunity, yet historically the sector has lacked innovation and customer needs were largely unmet. SMS Assist stands out to us as the only player delivering a scalable solution that improves both quality and transparency to its customer base while at the same time reducing costs,” says Christopher Dawe, co-head of the venture capital and growth equity team at Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, the same team that invested in Uber, Facebook, Pinterest and Spotify. “This investment is consistent with our philosophy of seeking exceptional teams that are applying technology to make industries more efficient. SMS Assist’s ability to deliver tangible savings to both customers and service providers is a testament to its technology platform and operational expertise, and fits with our broader view that ‘managed’ marketplaces are disrupting incumbent players.”
After receiving a venture investment from Pritzker Group in 2011 and 2013, SMS Assist experienced rapid growth in revenue, profitability and operating scale. With an additional investment from Insight Venture Partners in May 2015, SMS Assist continued to develop its technology and enter new markets, launching a new integrated platform, “One by SMS Assist,” and officially entering the single family residential market earlier in 2015. SMS now employs more than 550 people from its Chicago headquarters.
“SMS Assist is at the forefront of the next wave of innovation, fundamentally transforming the USD50 billion maintenance and management market with its disruptive technology platform while delivering real value and cost savings for its customers,” says JB Pritzker, Pritzker Group managing partner. “SMS Assist is a profitable company experiencing explosive growth. Working together with Goldman Sachs Investment Partners will empower us to expand into ever-larger markets with the company’s world-class technology platform.”
