RealConnex just closed on a $3.5M strategic financing round that founder Roy Abrams said will help his firm — the world’s first B2B platform connecting CRE pros with capital and investments — expand its user base and drive deal flow. The goal: build the globe's biggest community for real estate professionals to network and connect with capital sources and service providers. Abrams said the cash infusion will be used for marketing to expand the RealConnex network, which has 65,000 users, and a database of 200,000 companies and funds. The financing round was led by Silver Portal Capital.

RealConnex is on track to have 6,000 registered capital sources, 9,000 investment opportunities and $1B in transacted deals by the end of 2017, according to Abrams. Silver Portal Capital, a merchant banking firm exclusively focused on real estate, said it will adopt RealConnex’s platform throughout its organization and channel partners, helping drive growth. Silver Portal senior managing principal Jean-Louis Guinchard sees a significant competitive advantage in helping RealConnex scale into the world’s largest real estate network. “They are poised to affect the market in a material way," he said.