Updater raises $215M to accelerate product, design, data, and engineering

By Emily Hassett

Published May 19, 2022

Updated Jan 18, 2024

At a time of rapid growth for Updater, we’re thrilled to announce our latest fundraise of $215 million from Vista Credit Partners, a subsidiary of Vista Equity Partners. This new capital will help accelerate our product, design, data, and engineering capabilities.

If you’ve moved, you probably experienced how painful the process can be. Our team is passionate about solving one of life’s most stressful events. And, we solve the challenges with cutting-edge tech solutions that ease the moving process for millions of people each year.

“I was quickly drawn to the energy of the people, the enormous design possibilities, and the big vision at Updater. I’m incredibly excited about the HUGE potential for the brand and experience to create impact across all audiences within the moving journey—helping people getting settled into their new homes faster and easier.”
– Jarrod Ryhal, Design Lead

This mission is ambitious. Updater operates a multi-faceted marketplace with a wide range of services to run and power your home. Aggregating those suppliers and reaching consumers at the exact right moment is tough. But, we’re well on our way to achieving our mission – Updater currently helps 25% of people in the U.S. on the move every year and we’re just getting started.

That level of adoption begins with a great product. We empower our Product, Design, Data, and Engineering (“PDDE”) teams to lead coordinated and collaborative efforts across every function within the company. Our PDDE teams drive true innovation day in and out.

For example, in the last 12 months, our PDDE teams:

Shipped our core application on iOS and Android native apps
Designed a more intuitive user interface
Launched Updater Pro, which includes advanced resident onboarding features for multifamily partners
Built a new front end platform and design system
And much more

“Within the tech culture at Updater, human-centered design is not only the focus of our products, but also foundational to the various ways we collaborate within our teams. Free thought and curiosity are valued through every step of the way. We win collectively by nurturing a workplace environment for open communication, creative thought, and empowerment of the individual.”
– Vicky Payne, Senior Software Engineer I

In addition to shipping features and products over the last year, Updater has also transitioned to a remote-first company and hired over 100 employees across the company, with a focus on Product, Design, Data, and Engineering. “The problems we’re solving really matter. Moving is often the result of an exciting life event, but that feeling is often overwhelmed by a litany of research, annoying tasks, and complex logistics. Our leaders in PDDE are modernizing and reimagining industries that have historically suffered from a lack of technology investment,” said Updater’s Chief Product Officer, Josh Abrams.

“At Updater, the exciting part of my job is that we’re solving a hard problem and evolving multiple industries all at once, at a moment that gives time and peace of mind back to our customers. The disparate tasks needed to move and set up your home, and the lack of technology solutions present a unique challenge to the Product, Design, and Engineering teams at Updater. We’re bridging the gaps that have been traditionally solved in person, over the phone, or with email at best. Solving these problems isn’t always as simple as integrating with an API – sometimes the APIs don’t exist!”
– Niket Sanghvi, Lead Product Manager

How our PDDE teams work

At Updater, our team embodies a culture of design thinking, data-based decision-making, and user research. Our PDDE teams set their own goals, define our culture, and determine our ways of working.

“By investing in our frontend platform, our engineers are given the building blocks needed to move fast and build software quickly and correctly.”
– Thomas Crescenzi, Engineering Manager

Our product plays a large role in making Updater such an incredible company and our PDDE leaders will continue to play a significant role in shaping our future.

“At Updater, the product requirements are not created by product managers alone — we have brilliant designers and engineers who take active part in shaping what the product requirements should look like. This ensures that we release products that are carefully thought out and consider both the user experience and ease to develop.”
– Adrian Lai, Senior Lead Product Manager

If our mission energizes you, check out the open roles on our product, design, and engineering teams and say hello. We’d love to speak with you!

“I decided to join the product team at Updater because of their data driven approach to product development as well as the incredible people I had the chance to meet throughout the interview process. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with a team that has such a wealth of experience.”
– George Matelich, Senior Product Manager

Product:

Product Management at Updater

Design:

Engineering:

Emily Hassett

Emily is a Senior Marketing Manager at Updater leading all real estate marketing initiatives. Outside of work, you can find Emily traveling, trying new coffee shops and restaurants, or petting every dog she walks by.