# Yishai Cohen

> Yishai Cohen is the co-founder and CEO of Landa, a New York fintech that tried to turn houses into stocks - letting anyone buy a share of a rental home for as little as $5. A teenage entrepreneur from Jerusalem who sold his first company (a bus-booking marketplace) before finishing military service, Cohen raised roughly $100M and amassed some 400 properties across seven U.S. markets. By 2025 the platform had gone dark amid lender lawsuits, missed dividends, and the loss of much of its portfolio.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Landa
- **Organizations:** Landa, SmartBus
- **From:** Jerusalem, Israel
- **Nationality:** Israeli
- **Education:** B.A. in Economics and Politics, The Open University of Israel
- **Known for:** Founded and sold his first startup, SmartBus, as a teenager, Co-founded Landa and raised roughly $100M total ($40M equity, $62M debt) from NFX, 83North and Viola, Built a portfolio of ~400 single-family homes, townhouses and apartments across seven U.S. markets

## Career timeline

- **2015** — Founded SmartBus, a B2B marketplace for bus companies, at age 16 in Jerusalem
- **2016** — SmartBus acquired; completed compulsory Israeli military service
- **2019** — Co-founded Landa with CTO Amit Assaraf to make real estate ownership accessible
- **2022** — Landa emerged from stealth with $33M equity and $62M debt; grew to ~25,000 investors and 400 properties
- **2024** — Viola Credit and L Finance sued Landa over $35M in defaulted loans
- **2025** — Landa's app and portal went dark; dividends stopped; much of the portfolio was lost to lenders

## Achievements

- Founded and sold his first startup, SmartBus, as a teenager
- Co-founded Landa and raised roughly $100M total ($40M equity, $62M debt) from NFX, 83North and Viola
- Built a portfolio of ~400 single-family homes, townhouses and apartments across seven U.S. markets
- Grew Landa to more than 25,000 investors with a $5 minimum entry point
- Structured an SEC-registered fractional-share model with per-property LLCs and in-house property management

## Latest updates

- **2024-11** — Viola Credit and L Finance filed suit in New York alleging Landa defaulted on more than $35M in loans.
- **2025-02** — Reports that Landa was losing control of much of its property portfolio to lenders.
- **2025-04** — Cohen publicly acknowledged platform issues and said the team was working to restore functionality.
- **2025-05** — Landa's app and investor portal remained down; dividends unpaid; 130+ complaints filed with the BBB.

## Links

- Website: https://landa.app
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/yishai--cohen
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/landa_app
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/landa.fast/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/yishai-cohen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-07