In a time of rising housing demand, every innovation that speeds up the path to homeownership matters. Calgary-based Virtuo is making it easier for people to get into their homes by leveraging smart technology and strategic partnerships to streamline the home purchasing and ownership journey.
With support from the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund’s (OCIF) Express program, Virtuo is scaling its platform to bring its digital-first experience to more homeowners. The result is a faster, smoother process that helps both builders and homebuyers keep pace with a growing housing market.
To date, Virtuo has helped more than 35,000 homeowners through this transition with most of them right here in Calgary.
Streamlining the path to possession
Buying a home is a major milestone and for many the experience can be overwhelming.
The idea behind Virtuo came from the executive relocation industry, where high-touch service was standard. They quickly spotted a major gap in the everyday homebuyers’ market where they were left to navigate the process on their own. That’s where the idea of Virtuo took shape.
Today, Virtuo offers an end-to-end digital platform that helps homebuilders and real estate teams manage everything from contract, move-in and beyond. Homeowners are provided access to features such as construction updates, centralized documentation, and built-in support for tasks like utility setup, warranty requests, and even move-in day coordination.
On the back end, builders benefit from streamlined workflows and better client experience.
“It’s a win for everyone. Customers get a far better experience, and our partners can focus on building and selling homes, not managing administrative tasks,” says Virtuo’s Chief Financial Officer, Brett Halvorson.
Since 2021, Virtuo has more than doubled its volume, from 4,300 to over 11,000 homes annually. It now works with over 40 builders across Canada and the U.S., including strong activity in Alberta, Ontario and the Southwestern US.
Accelerating growth with OCIF support
To maintain this momentum, Virtuo needed to expand its team quickly to meet the growing housing needs. That’s where the OCIF Express program came in.
“The biggest value for us was the speed,” says Halvorson. “OCIF Express gave us the confidence to move quickly on critical hires without the usual capital hesitation that slows companies down.”
With support from the program, Virtuo hired key roles across engineering, product, customer experience, and go-to-market strategy. Each hire has helped the company move faster, improving its infrastructure, enhancing customer experience, and accelerating the delivery of homes to buyers.
“These roles didn’t just fill gaps,” says Halvorson. “They’ve levelled up our business across our product, operations, and go-to-market teams.”
Why Calgary still matters
While Virtuo is expanding across North America, Calgary continues to be a strategic base. Access to growing tech talent, partnerships through groups like Thin Air Labs, and a responsive support ecosystem have all been critical.
“There’s no question Calgary’s talent pool has improved significantly, especially at the individual contributor level,” says Halvorson. “We’ve been able to make some really high impact hires locally.”
That talent and support have allowed Virtuo to evolve from a niche service provider into a full-fledged enterprise software company poised for international growth. With the right people in place and a strong market plan, the company is now closing another investment round to push further into the U.S. market.
Looking ahead
With thousands of homes under management and a clear path for scale, Halvorson sees even more opportunities ahead.
“We’ve only scratched the surface,” he says. “The support we’ve had from this city, and programs like OCIF Express, has helped us move at a quicker pace. As we continue to scale the business across Canada and the US, we’re excited to bring further opportunities to the Calgary ecosystem.”