Smarter Agent will reportedly (subscription required) close their first VC finance round next week, with plans to double staff thereafter and make a run for it. I’ve encountered widely varying opinions on this type of app. Back in 2004, a then Director of LBS at Sprint said marketing cash support for a real-estate app was unlikely based on direct industry experiences she had, citing MLS listings as fragmented, inaccurate databases with little-to-no-value. Strong words for sure, but conversational nonetheless since Sprint eventually deployed the app—minus the expensive marketing effort to support its discovery.

Given the current infighting for real-estate mapping among the big portals and GIS vendors, and given Microsoft’s 80% market share in this space via Virtual Earth, I wonder if it makes sense for Smarter Agent to find, well, a smarter agent D2C channel.