NEW YORK, NY, OCT 5, 2020 -- Compass, the real estate technology company, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Modus, a title and escrow software startup. The Seattle-based company brings its 60+ person team and tech-driven closing process to Compass’s end-to-end platform for real estate. 

“Modus is transforming title and escrow from an offline, antiquated undertaking into a transparent tech-enabled solution that saves real estate agents time by simplifying the entire closing process,” said Compass CTO Joseph Sirosh. "Compass has significantly accelerated our ability to provide agents with a more complete suite of services with this acquisition. Not only are we integrating Modus software into our platform – we’re also gaining an experienced team that comes with a deep understanding of building for, and driving adoption within, this complex and highly fragmented industry.” 

Modus was founded in 2018 by Alex Day, Jai Sim, and Abbas Guvenilir with the aim of digitizing the home-closing process by providing a transparent platform for both agents and their clients. The Seattle-based startup is home to 60+ product, engineering and operations employees who blend a deep appreciation of the complexities of the real estate industry with the ability to create exceptional software-driven user experiences. 

"Compass's customer-first approach is right in line with the way we think about our business – since day one we have been focused on empowering agents and their clients by improving all aspects of the home-closing process,” said Modus Co-Founder and CEO, Alex Day. "We are incredibly excited to become part of the Compass team at this pivotal time in our industry, and look forward to joining in their mission of building the future of real estate for agents and their clients.” 

The transaction is expected to close this month and the terms of the deal are not being disclosed. Modus will be the third software focused transaction Compass has closed in the past 18 months, having acquired industry-leading CRM platform Contactually and acquiring the team behind artificial intelligence/machine learning company Detectica in 2019. The Compass product and engineering teams are led by Chief Technology Officer, Joseph Sirosh (former Microsoft CTO of AI) and Chief Product Officer, Greg Hart (a 23-year veteran of Amazon, the founding leader of Amazon Alexa, and most recently the leader of Prime Video). During their tenure Compass has accelerated product development by assembling arguably the most highly-skilled team in real estate technology while opening tech hubs in New York City, Washington D.C., Hyderabad India and Seattle. 

About Compass
Compass is a leading tech-enabled real estate services company that includes the largest residential real estate brokerage in the United States by sales volume. Founded in 2012 and based in New York City, Compass provides an end-to-end platform that empowers its residential real estate agents at its owned-brokerage to deliver exceptional service to seller and buyer clients. The platform includes an integrated suite of cloud-based software for customer relationship management, marketing, client service, brokerage services, and other critical functionality, all custom-built for the real estate industry. Compass agents utilize the platform to grow their business, save time, and manage their business more efficiently. The Compass network includes Christie's International Real Estate, the world's premier global luxury real estate brand with over 100 independently owned brokerage Affiliates in 50 countries and territories. For more information on how Compass empowers real estate agents, one of the largest groups of small business owners, please visit www.compass.com.