SANTA ANA — Consolidated Analytics Inc. is expanding its real estate valuation services through the acquisition of Real Info Inc.
New York-based Real Info was founded in 1995 and is a provider of property data and valuation technology.
Terms of the deal were undisclosed.
“Consolidated Analytics has been in the valuation business for many years, but this is the last leg of a product that we didn’t have,” Chief Executive Arvin Wijay told the Business Journal.
The acquisition, announced last month, will give Santa Ana-based Consolidated Analytics access to Real Info’s line of software products that predict market value and assess collateral value.
This is Consolidated Analytics’ fourth acquisition to date. It most previously acquired property management company Carrington Property Services LLC in 2019.
Consolidated Analytics started out as a real estate valuation company in 1996.
Since its founding, the company has grown over the past 10 years to offer other services such as due diligence, REO asset management and mortgage fulfillment services.
“It really helps our clients to come to a one-stop shop rather than having to go to multiple service providers,” Wijay said.
Wijay has been in the finance industry for more than three decades.
He is a former executive at Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) where he acted as executive vice president of production and strategic management.
He helped lead the $706 million acquisition of Saxon Mortgage Services Inc. in 2006. It was later acquired by Ocwen Financial Corp. for a base purchase of $73.8 million in 2012, according to regulatory filings.
Huxli.ai Launches Student Study Tool
IRVINE — A new startup is using artificial intelligence to help college students reduce homework time.
Alp Can Cizem created Huxli.ai, an AI-powered study tool, based on his own experiences as a student.
Huxli.ai launched last March initially as a writing assistant that found quotes for essays.
It has since evolved into a package of tools, including a lecture note taker and math problem solver with step-by-step explanations.
“We’ve been testing the possibilities of AI to make school a little bit easier for students,” Cizem told the Business Journal.
Huxli.ai offers both monthly and annual subscription plans and currently has over 145,000 sign-ups since launching.
Bootstrapped Startup
Cizem said he developed Huxli.ai out of his garage in Irvine.
He bootstrapped the company with co-founders Andrew Dimarogonas, who is also chief technology officer, and his twin brother Cem Cizem who acts as chief marketing officer.
They also welcomed Chief Information Officer Austen Fletcher in November.
Cizem, a 22-year-old Turkish immigrant, spent his early life going back and forth between America and Turkey, which greatly impacted his education.
This experience inspired him to create Huxli.ai to be a useful resource for similar struggling students.
In response to ethical concerns regarding AI and education, Cizem said he and his team work closely with professors from the University of California, Irvine and Northeastern University to make sure “their products align with the needs of educational institutions.”
Cizem said one goal of his is to transition away from selling direct-to-consumer and start selling to universities for wider use.
