The co-founders of Ribbon want to bring artificial intelligence to home transactions.
Shaival Shah and Wei Gan launched a new startup this week called Indigo, which uses AI to run advanced search portals. The Indigo transaction platform automates and streamlines communications, bidding processes and negotiations for buying and selling a home.
The founders intend the platform to provide transparency to a market upended by the settlement of antitrust lawsuits by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and major brokerages. Indigo believes it is filling a need for real estate agents created by the new settlement-mandated rules.
“To bring the new industry model to market, the information, real-time intelligence and decision-making capabilities must improve to facilitate the transparency the market deserves,” Shah said in a statement. “It requires great technical firepower to reimagine the new experience and workflow infrastructure.”
Other entrepreneurs with experience in the housing space are also involved. Paul Kim previously held the title of chief architect at Ribbon and he’ll be responsible for the AI components of the Indigo platform. Frances Bryant was head of real estate at Ribbon and holds a similar role at Indigo.
The Indigo platform looks much like a search portal but allows buyers to bid on listings provided by agents, which are boosted by the AI to include the preferences of the seller. The platform will collect and validate offers from buyers, a process the company calls the “Home Checkout.”
The company said that buyer agents can produce compliant offers and contracts in seconds, from any digital device, with its Contracts AI tool. Much of the paperwork related to a transaction will be automated.
Indigo is initially launching in Charlotte, with plans to enter more more markets in the near future. Leading agents and teams from Compass, Keller Williams, eXp, RE/MAX and other brokerages are among the initial users.
“As the real estate industry rapidly evolves, the demand for accurate, timely market data has become essential,” Kourosh Sharifi, chief financial officer for RE/MAX Executive in Charlotte, said in a statement.
“Agents and clients now depend on data-driven insights to navigate the complexities of transactions and make informed decisions. Indigo offers a cutting-edge platform that leverages AI to provide these crucial insights, positioning itself as a game changer in the industry.”