Homeis raises $12 million Series A funding to build better internet for 250 million immigrants around the world

Homeis, a culture network for local, foreign-born communities, announced its $12 million Series A funding round to expand its mission to create a better internet for immigrants, and help 250 million immigrants in foreign-born communities around the world. The round was led by Canaan and Spark Capital.

Founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs and former AOL executives, Ran Harnevo and Hanan Lashover, the New York and Tel Aviv, Israel-based Homeis is the first digital platform for foreign-born communities around the world. Homeis is the one stop shop for everything expats and foreign-born individuals need while living abroad. It is the first and only online platform for expats & foreign-born nationals living abroad.

The platform is built to serve and empower the 250 million immigrants around the world. Since its inception in 2017, Homeis has served hundreds of thousands of immigrants in its launched communities and will expand to serve all immigrant communities in the U.S. and across the globe, starting with Mexicans and other Latino communities in the U.S. in 2019.

Founded by immigrants for immigrants, Homeis was built with the unique experience of being foreign-born at its core, and believes in the positive power of immigration. Being born at a time of increased tension, hostility and skepticism towards immigration is no accident. It is the platform’s ability to harness the power of immigrant communities digitally which makes this support system even more impactful and necessary for individuals around the world. Through the Homeis app, users have access to social and utility based connections, from finding new friends, relationships and jobs, to recommendations for local services and events.

“Empowering immigrants is a personal mission, one which we believe is timely and important,” said Ran Harnevo, Homeis Co-founder and CEO. “We are thrilled to have the support of our investors and are committed to supporting immigrants wherever they are, making technology work for them, and fulfilling their very special needs.”

Homeis empowers foreign-born people to build communities around culture, shared experiences and practical local knowledge. Each new user logs in and answers two simple questions: what country are you from originally and where do you live right now. By answering, the user is immediately welcomed into his or her community. From there, users enjoy a combination of social and utility resources. From opportunities to meet friends, chat and network to advice on how to find the right lawyers, doctors or restaurants. All content is created and vetted by the community, based on its shared culture.

An immigrant himself, Harnevo founded Homeis after successfully building the industry’s first online syndication platform (5min Media), which he went on to sell to AOL. Harnevo then joined corporate America as Global President of AOL’s Video division. After immense success at AOL, Harnevo left corporate America to build a company that fulfills his personal mission to “use technology for a positive social cause.”

With communities currently serving Indians, Israelis and French in the U.S., among other global communities, Homeis will leverage the support of its investors to expand its reach. The platform is backed by Abstract VC, The Chernin Group, Samsung Next, Reddit Co-founder Alexis Ohanian, AOL’s former CEO Tim Armstrong, Taboola CEO Adam Singolda, and others, making it uniquely positioned to serve the growing immigrant population.

To download the Homeis app, visit www.homeis.com/downloads.

Below is a video overview of Homeis.