A homebuilding giant has acquired a Hayward-based technology startup that faced imminent closure earlier this year. Miami-based Lennar Corp. has successfully acquired Veev in a deal valued at “several dozen million” dollars, according to a report from the San Francisco Business Times. The sale closed on Dec. 21, marking a significant chapter in the evolution of both companies.
Founded in 2008 by Amit Haller, Ami Avrahami, and Dafna Akiva, Veev has gained recognition for its innovative approach to residential construction. The company had successfully constructed more than 170 residential units in the Bay Area market and had ambitious plans to add another 300 single-family houses to its portfolio in Northern California by 2025. However, though once valued at $1 billion, the proptech company faced a sudden and unexpected closure when it failed to secure additional funding at the end of November, according to previous reporting from The Registry. At that time, the company was poised to shut down its current entity, with an assignee taking charge of asset management and its subsequent sale in the U.S.
In November of 2021, Lennar announced that it would commit a new residential community as part of the company’s $200 million financing of Veev. The plan was for Lennar to bring Veev into the development of a new Northern California community of 102 attached homes, which would have represented the largest community to date exclusively featuring homes built with Veev’s proprietary and productized approach to design and construction. However, Veev ultimately backed out of that project, according to the SFBT report.
Details regarding Veev’s footprint in the region under Lennar’s ownership have not yet been released. Veev could remain independent or be integrated into the homebuilding company’s operations.
Veev’s co-founders, Haller and Avrahami, who had previously helmed the now-shuttered Israeli real estate platform Reali, launched the company with the goal of addressing the housing shortage in the Bay Area. Their innovative approach involved manufacturing walls, roofing, and other segments in a factory and delivering them to construction sites, enabling the assembly of homes in a matter of weeks. This method was touted as an efficient and cost-effective way to tackle the housing crisis.
Last year, the startup expanded into the East Bay by subleasing 506,925 square feet from Amazon at 2701 W. Winton Ave. in Hayward. The move came after Veev raised $400 million in a Series D round and was looking for ways to facilitate future growth.
