Opendoor co-founder Eric Wu is leaving the real estate tech company, according to SEC filing.
In a statement, Wu said: “After ten years, I am called to return to my startup roots and create and build again. I am humbled by this achievement and grateful to all my teammates who have helped shape the product, the culture and the company.”
Wu will remain an advisor to the company and the board. Even during this time at Opendoor, he was an active investor. According CrunchbaseWu has invested in dozens of companies, including Airtable, Scribe, Roofstock and the now-defunct Zeus Living.
The executive had gradually reduced his executive responsibilities at the nine-year-old Opendoor. Last December, Wu announced that he was stepping down from his role as CEO to serve as Opendoor’s market president.
The company, like many others in the real estate space, has faced some challenges as mortgage rates have soared to nearly 8% – making it harder for people to buy homes.
In November 2022, Opendoor announced that it was letting go about 550 peopleor 18% of the company, across all functions.
At the time, Wu said his company was navigating “one of the most challenging real estate markets in the last 40 years.”
Opendoor was launched in late December 2020 after its completion planned merger with SPAC Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings II, led by investor Chamath Palihapitiya. This was after the company had raised about $1.3 billion in equity financing and nearly $3 billion in debt financing. Investors include General Atlantic, SoftBank Vision Fund, NEA, Norwest Venture Partners, GV, GGV Capital, Access Technology Ventures, SV Angel and Fifth Wall Ventures, among others.
Founders include Wu and Founders Fund general partner Keith Rabois.
This has been a week of founder departures. On Thursday, TechCrunch broke the news that Credit Karma co-founder Nichole Mustard would be leaving the company after more than 16 years. Jack Altman also announced that he will be leaving Latticea software startup he founded in 2015. Altman told Business Insider that he wanted to “go back to the early stages of building a company.”
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