The sale, to Virbela founders Alex Howland and Erik Hill, closed at the end of November. It comes at a time when virtual worlds and the metaverse have become less of a topic of interest.
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EXp World Holdings, the parent of eXp Realty, sold the Virbela platform that created its virtual metaverse status, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The filing said the sale closed on Nov. 29. Virbela founders Alex Howland and Erik Hill — who also serve as Virbela’s president and vice president, respectively — acquired the company from eXp.
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Howland and Hill continued with Virbela after eXp acquired the company in 2018. The filing reveals that instead of the company they founded, the two executives withdrew a total of $252,100 in severance they were entitled to after being terminated from eXp. Their liquidation was completed when the sale of Virbela was closed.
However, the SEC filing does not mention any other payments made by Howland and Hill to reacquire Virbela.
In a statement to Inman Friday, eXp said the transaction “ensures that the platform remains in the hands of its visionary leaders, who are well positioned to explore new ways to evolve and monetize application-based software.”
“Important financial terms include the cancellation of the separation by the founders and the assumption of ongoing liabilities by the buyer’s business,” the statement added.
News of the sale was first reported in early December Investing.com. Property News then reported on the story this week.
Despite the sale, eXp will continue to offer agents the virtual world. The company’s statement notes that starting in 2024, agents will begin to show a preference for “web-accessible platforms and AI-driven solutions” instead of app-based options like Virbela. In response, the company “depends on this change, focusing on Frame, our state-of-the-art browser-based platform that provides unparalleled ease of access and collaboration.”
“FrameVR.io continues to power our virtual workplace, eXp World, which remains a cornerstone of our culture and global connection,” the statement continued. “This change aligns with our commitment to innovation and ensures that our community can seamlessly connect and collaborate regardless of location, strengthening eXp’s position as a leader in the virtual space.”
EXp first announced its acquisition of Virbela in 2018. The company did not say at the time how much it paid for the platform, which it has been using since 2016 to provide a cloud-based virtual world for agents and employees. In the years following the acquisition, eXp and founder Glenn Sanford often touted the virtual world as the company’s key differentiator. In 2020, Sanford gave a detailed tour of the virtual world — which some viewers compared to the video game Second Life — at Inman Connect New York.
Lately, however, the world of eXp has seemed to take a back seat to other splitters. Inman has reported extensively on recent brokerage battles for top agent talent, and eXp often makes headlines for its victories in so-called recruiting wars. However, those newly hired agents and team leaders rarely, if ever, chose the virtual world of eXp among the things that attracted them to the company.
Last month, Inman also spoke with Exp Realty Chief Marketing Officer Wendy Forsythe about recruiting for an ongoing talent-speak series. The conversation touched on company culture, revenue sharing, and other topics – but Virbela, virtual worlds, and the metaverse did not come up in the conversation.
EXPp’s move to emphasize other aspects of its business seems to coincide with a broader cooling interest around the world. In recent years, for example, Facebook began investing heavily in its metaverse project. However, at the beginning of 2024 this project is reported to have cost the company billions, and other reports have revealed that the company has been quietly moving forward with this idea. Today, this concept is rarely mentioned – be it by Facebook, eXp, or any other company – as the next exciting technological frontier.
Update: This story was updated after publication with an eXp statement provided by Inman.
Email Jim Dalrymple II
