NestAway is perhaps India’s most popular home rental startup. The startup has a robust online website and mobile app (technology platforms) which makes it easy for people to search out the ideal houses or PGs for rent. The startup announced yesterday (04/12/2017) that it has raised US $50 million (Rs. 330 crores) in Series B round of funding from the VC firm, UC-RNT, which is funded by the firm, Tata Sons, which in turn was founded by Tata Group chairman, Ratan Tata. The startup’s existing investors such as Tiger Global and IDG Ventures India are also reported to have participated in that round of funding. NestAway is expected to be valued at US $180 to 200 million after this round of funding. Read more on Investments
UC-RNT has a total investment corpus of around US $250 million which it will use to fund startups throughout India. Last year (2016), Ratan Tata alone, had personally invested an undisclosed amount in NestAway. NestAway was founded in 2015. The startup charges 10 to 12% commission on rent earned by the property owners in exchange for offering maintenance and listing their ads on its web platform. Neither the tenants nor the owners need to pay brokerage in this model. Prior to this round of funding, NestAway had raised investments amounting to US $43 million. The startup presently operates in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Pune and Mumbai. The funds from this round of funding will be used to expand the startup’s footprint in India and upgrade its technology platforms (website and mobile app).
The other rental startups to get funded include the furniture rental startup, Rentickle, which raised US $4 million in Series A round of funding during December, this year (2017). The bike rental startup, ONN Bikes, raised US $692,000 (Rs. 4.5 crores) in Pre Series round of funding from Z Nation Lab during November, this year. The furniture rental startup, Furlenco, raised US $30 million in Series B round of funding from LightBox Ventures during October, 2016 just to name a few. Read more on Startup News
