Property records tech draws fresh VC interest

A startup focused on modernizing property records intelligence announced a seed funding round, making it at least the second such company to receive early venture capital investment this year. 

Based in Tel Aviv with operations also in Florida, Dono raised $6.5 million in the round led by Link Ventures. Participants also included Lool VC and Alumni Ventures.  

The fintech aims to support homeownership verification efforts through the construction of a modular infrastructure that includes capabilities for data collection across multiple sources, artificial intelligence-enabled extraction and indexing, coding and delivery. 

In Dono's system, modules work independently or in combination to help expedite the title and document search process and speed up closings, and can be used through application program or user interfaces, according to CEO and co-founder Tali Gross. 

"Our mission is to fundamentally improve the home closing experience by giving everyone involved — title professionals, lenders, buyers, servicers — the certainty they need without the friction that's been accepted as 'just how it works' for decades," he said in a press release. 

With expertise in the title underwriting and insurance business, Gross pointed to the number of real estate closings delayed today due to document discrepancies and similar issues as a primary problem Dono hoped to solve. Use of the platform can deliver 80% faster turnaround time, with search-and-delivery today still often dependent on manual processes and offshore vendors, Gross claimed.

Dono's platform deliverables are also backed by human verification to ensure accuracy, he said. 

"The gap isn't just technology. Plenty of tools exist. But they aren't built on modern infrastructure."

Founded in 2023, Dono plans to use the newly raised capital to expand its platform's coverage county by county, with a goal to reach 50% of the U.S. population by the end of 2026. It currently has more than 700 counties in its network. 

Will property records search become the AI funding trend for 2026?

The funding round is at least the second in as many months coming from venture capital firms showing interest in emerging companies that serve the title industry and others at the closing table. 

In mid January, Florida-based Titl announced a seed raise of $2.5 million to support growth of its blockchain-backed platform, which streamlines title searches by connecting and standardizing records. At the time, the company similarly said it would also use its funding to grow its operations to as many as 20 states this year. 

Recent VC attention to property-search records arrives as the National Association of Realtors reported consistency in homebuyer closing delays, which hit 14% in the fourth quarter last year. The share edged downward, but remained near 16% reported at the end of 2024 and 15% in the third quarter. 

The funding announcements also point to the ongoing surge in the development of artificial intelligence-backed tools. Alongside capital for the two property-search related firms, rising fintechs within mortgage and appraisal industries attracted notable investments from lender and servicer Newrez this year.