Bain Capital, Sattva Group and Colive Launch $100M Co-Living Platform; Colive Secures $20M from Bain Capital

Colive, India's leading and Bangalore's largest co-living platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Bain Capital and Sattva Group to establish a pan-India co-living real estate platform with an initial commitment of at least $100 million. The new platform will be dedicated to acquiring land, developing flagship communities, and delivering purpose-built rental housing across India’s largest urban centers, meeting the growing demand from young professionals and students for high-quality, community-driven living spaces.

As part of the partnership, Colive also raised $20 million in strategic funding, spearheaded by Bain Capital, with strong backing from long-term partner Sattva Group. The $20 million operational investment will power Colive's accelerated growth trajectory through enhanced technology infrastructure, expanded market presence, and reinforced market leadership in tech-enabled rental housing solutions across India.

This exclusive real estate platform, managed by Colive, has completed initial land acquisitions in Pune and Bengaluru, with nearly 0.5 Mn sq ft of Coliving spaces under development. Additional opportunities are being actively evaluated in Bangalore, Pune, and Hyderabad. The PropCo initiative targets 8-10 flagship developments in the immediate term, creating a scalable foundation for Colive's pan-India expansion. While the platform is being launched with an initial commitment of $100 million, the partners view the opportunity as scalable over time and open to considering additional investments as attractive opportunities emerge.

The platform will deliver intelligent, fully furnished, professionally managed residences strategically positioned near major employment hubs and educational centers, addressing the evolving lifestyle demands of Gen Z and millennial residents while providing seamless transitions for India's urban migrants.

Strategic Vision and Market Leadership

"India is experiencing a fundamental transformation in urban housing preferences, and Colive stands uniquely positioned to address this surging demand through technology-enabled, community-focused living solutions. Our investment commitment demonstrates our unwavering confidence in this market category and Colive's established leadership position," stated Sarit Chopra, Partner at Bain Capital.

"At Sattva, we have long believed that co-living is a critical enabler of India's urban transformation. We have deepened our partnership with Colive significantly over the last few years, which reflects our conviction that this sector holds immense potential. While demand from young professionals migrating to cities is robust, the real challenge lies in creating quality supply that matches their aspirations and lifestyle needs. Through this partnership with Bain Capital, we are bringing international standards and global best practices to India while establishing a dedicated PropCo platform for purpose-built assets and are positioned to scale solutions that will shape how India's next generation lives and works in our cities," emphasized Bijay Agarwal, Managing Director, Sattva Group.

Technology-Driven Community Experience

Founded on the transformative mission of becoming "Your Family, Away from Family," Colive is reshaping urban living through its distinctive 6 Star Living framework: Style, Safety, Smart, Service, Savings, and Social. Colive's proprietary technology ecosystem orchestrates the complete resident experience—from streamlined digital onboarding and automated payment systems to app-integrated safety protocols, maintenance coordination, and concierge services—delivering a secure, interconnected, and dynamic community-centered lifestyle that establishes new benchmarks in metropolitan living.

As India navigates unprecedented urban migration, demand for premium rental housing continues its upward trajectory. Colive addresses this market opportunity by developing environments that exceed basic accommodation, featuring thoughtfully curated common spaces, organized community programming, and an integrated digital platform that cultivates authentic connections and exceptional convenience.

Future Growth and Market Impact

"This funding represents a pivotal moment in Colive's journey to revolutionize urban living for young professionals throughout India. It signifies strong investor confidence in our vision and enables accelerated scaling, continuous innovation, and deeper commitment to developing intelligent, community-centered living environments that genuinely feel like home” added Suresh Rangarajan, Founder & CEO, Colive.

Stanza Living to Invest Rs 400 Cr in 2 Yrs on Expansion of Co-Living Business

Co-living operator Stanza Living will invest Rs 400 crore over the next two years on expansion as it sees opportunities in the rental accommodation business despite the coronavirus-triggered slowdown.

Founded in 2017, Stanza Living has so far raised USD 70 million from investors like Falcon Edge Capital, Sequoia Capital, Accel, Matrix Partners and Alteria Capital. 

It currently has 200 centres across 14 cities with a total capacity of 55,000 beds, which are being provided in the price range of Rs 4,000-25,000 per bed. 

"We are seeing a limited impact on our business. Our revenue has been hit marginally by around 2 per cent. Most of the students have gone back to their home but they are occupying our beds and paying rents," Stanza Living Co-founder and MD Anindya Dutta said.

The company has given some relief to its student members by providing discounts on rentals, he added. 

Dutta expressed confidence about the growth potential of the co-living business post COVID-19.

However, at present there is no clarity about when the new session will start in colleges and universities because of the lockdown, he added.

"Education is important. As and when situations normalise, students will come back to study," he said. 

Earlier this year, Stanza Living decided to diversify its business and provide rental accommodations for working professionals as well.  

Asked about expansion plans, Dutta said: "We are not deferring our expansion plans. We are targeting to add 50,000 beds in 12-18 months." 

Around half of the capacity addition would be for student housing and the remaining for working professionals.

On planned investment for expansion, Dutta said the company will be investing around Rs 400 crore over the next two years. 

"We have enough capital for our growth plan. We do not need to raise fresh funds," he added. 

In a recent study, News Corp and Softbank-backed realty portal PropTiger termed the co-living space as "real estate goldmine" and said the segment has the potential to become a USD 93 billion market annually on rising demand from students and professionals.

Close to 3 Million People Living in Co-Living Facilities Globally; Mkt Valued at $7.5B: Report

Asia is the biggest market by far, with Europe and US catching up quickly

The coliving market globally is now worth close to $7.5 Billion (Up from $6.3 Billion in 2018) with close to 3 Million people living in organized coliving setups across the world, said a report published by TheHouseMonk. China is the breakaway global leader with more than 2.5 Million people staying in coliving facilities and about $6.7 Billion being paid to coliving companies as rent in 2019. India is the 2nd largest market by number of colivers with 130,000 people who are paying a collective rent of $270 Million. 

Across Europe and US, the coliving movement has steadily been gaining momentum. Close to 15,000 people are living in coliving facilities in Europe and about 10,000 people in US, with market sizes being estimated at about $250 Million and $210 Million respectively. (See chart below)

[caption id="attachment_139198" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Fig 1. Number of tenants living in coliving facilities across the world[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_139197" align="aligncenter" width="397"] Fig 2. Split of tenants living in colivings by region[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_139196" align="aligncenter" width="441"] Fig 3. Market size of coliving by region[/caption]

Interesting trends 

“As the coliving industry evolves, we are noticing the foray of real estate developers into the space. We have seen the entry of several such players either as asset owners or operators. We expect this trend to grow further in the next couple of years”, said Ajay Kumar, Founder and CEO, TheHouseMonk. 

He added, “In India, South East Asia and Europe, we are also noticing the entry of hospitality majors (Both hotels and hostels) into the coliving industry. Overall, it is an exciting time to be in this industry.”

Nuances of different markets

The report highlighted differences in colivings in different geographies. While sharing of rooms by 2 or more people is the norm in India and China, this is not a culture that is noticeable in western part of the world where people want to have their own space. As a consequence of this cultural change, as well as purchase power parity between different geographies, the avg annual rent paid by a coliver in the US and Europe is almost 10x the rent paid in Asia (See chart below). 



Another key difference between is that in Asia, coliving operators have chosen to work with existing real estate that is available to them and choosing to repurpose them into colivings whereas in Europe, many operators have opted to work with developers to custom build projects specifically for coliving. While Purpose Built Coliving (PBCL) projects offer better returns for investors and better margins for operators, it takes time to get a project up and running. Close to 25,000 coliving rooms are currently under construction in Europe and is expected to hit the market over the next 3 years. 

Challenges 

While the growth rates might be strong across multiple geographies, there are multiple challenges that are affecting the growth of the industry. A few have been outlined below - 

• Zoning laws need to be updated to include coliving assets


• Clarification by Government agencies on (non) applicability of VAT/GST or the equivalent taxes on rent paid


• Acceptance of coliving as a living option by society at large

What to expect next from the coliving industry? 

With increased urbanisation and mobilisation of people across the world, coliving presents a great option for tenants to live amongst a great community of people in a cost effective manner. While the start of the coliving today is focused on Gen Z and Millennial population, we can expect more inclusive coliving models with housing options for families and senior citizens as well. 

Coliving is also centered around metropoles at the moment. Over the next few years, we should see the evolution of coliving in regions like Australia, New Zealand, Middle East and Latin America. Existing operators would possibly scale their offerings deeper into cities where they are currently operational. 

Download the complete report from TheHouseMonk here - 

Realty firm Puravankara forays into Co-Living Space; To develop first Project in Mumbai

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) Realty firm Puravankara Ltd is entering into co-living segment and will develop its first project, comprising over 1,000 beds, in Mumbai, a top company official said.

The Bengaluru-based company has identified a project in Goregaon, Mumbai to enter into this growing segment, its MD Ashish R Puravankara said.

However, the company is yet to decide whether it would foray in this business under a separate brand or would partner with some existing co-living operators, he said.

"Over the past few years, there has been a significant change in the buying behaviours of our customers, especially the millennials. They are more inclined towards co-living spaces that is more dynamic as compared to the usual rented space," the MD told PTI. The market has evolved to suit the needs of this demand, he added.

"However, existing buildings are fitted out for co-living space and most of the times, it may not meet the requirements. There is a lacuna in terms of designs specific to co-living space," said Ashish.

To address this lacuna, he said, the company would build projects that suit the co-living requirements.

"As of now, we have identified Goregaon in Mumbai as our foray into the co-living space which would be about 3,50,000 sf ft. At this juncture we are in the process of deciding if this is something we should start a new brand for or if a tie up with an established co-living operator would work better," he said.

In this project, the company would develop 1,000 plus beds in 1 and 2 BHK configuration.

"We see this business as definitely being viable. Also the location in Goregaon is very strategically located. Also it's a part of our strategy to have a diverse portfolio and not just pure play residential," said Ashish.

The company is in talks with few co-living operators and it is in the process of analysis between an operator based model or having its own separate brand for the same.

On investment, he said it would depend on the model that the company finally adopt.

In its latest report, News Corp-backed PropTiger has said that co-living has potential to become USD 93 billion market annually and termed this segment as "real estate goldmine" that remains largely untapped.

OxfordCaps, Stanza Living, Zolo, Yourspace, Coho, Stayabode, Colive, Hamstead, Placio, NestAway, RentMyStay, Rentroomi, SimplyGuest and Flathood are major players in the co-living segments providing rented space for students and working professionals.

OYO and Housr have recently entered into this space. PropTiger has recently acquired Fastfox.com that helps people in getting rental accommodation.

Puravankara reported a 63 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 43.24 crore for the June quarter as compared to Rs 26.46 crore in the year-ago period.

Total income during the June quarter rose 64 per cent to Rs 645.55 crore from Rs 394.70 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. PTI MJH

Student Housing Startup PLACIO Enters Co-Living Segment; Partners with Arabian Link for 3000+ Rooms in Kuwait

In a strategic move, PLACIO, a Student Housing company has announced its foray into the International market thus venturing for the first time into the co-living segment. PLACIO has partnered with Kuwait based Managed Housing Company, Arabian Link for its first overseas venture. Arabian Link has chosen PLACIO from many other Professional Co- Living O&M companies in India and GCC region to expand its operational bandwidth across the GCC.

PLACIO signed this contract to manage 3000+ rooms as an O&M Partner and in Phase 1 rolling out its cutting edge technology platform, setting up staff training program, implementation of Standard Operating Procedure, with an aim to deliver quality living spaces coupled with specialized and customized services. PLACIO and Arabian Link shall jointly expand in GCC region including Qatar, UAE, Oman and Bahrain.

Founded by Mustafa Shikora, Arabian Link is a decade old Co Living/ Corporate Housing company in Kuwait. Mustafa is astute professional with post graduate in Science, having 20yrs+ experience in the Insurance, Investments, Hospitality & Real Estate industries. The company has set the hallmark of execution in Hospitality, facility management and User experience. With this initiative, Arabian Link brings its Global experience in Hospitality and real estate management which significantly compliment PLACIO business. Arabian Link is the largest Co-Living and Managed Rental Company in Kuwait with Annual revenues of USD 10 Million.

According to Mustafa Shikora, “the co-living segment, an emerging sector in real estate, has the potential to grow into a $93-billion market in India. In India, the co-living sector has total untapped demand of approximately 63 million beds, out of which 30 million is from student housing. This segment suffers from huge mismatch between demand and supply. He further added that with keen interest in Indian Co-Living and Student Housing Market, he could find out great synergy in PLACIO.”

Speaking on entering the global market, Rohit Pateria, Founder – PLACIO, “After gaining rich experience in managing student housing operations and hospitality in India, our next move is towards the co-living segment that has huge potential globally. Globally, the concept of co-living is cost effective, however in India it is still at a nascent and evolving stage. He further added that as per Knight Frank survey, 34 per cent of the country's population comprises millennials - who have a penchant for frequently switching jobs and homes every few months - and it is this demographics that will continue to drive the consumption story across sectors”.

“Our partnership with Arabian Link is our first move to enter the global market and we are very much excited to deliver our best, globally, too”, adds, Mr. Pateria.

Arabian Link is a Managed Housing and Co Living Company, providing furnished apartments with managed Services. Since inception in 2008, Arabian Link has worked extremely hard to become one of the leaders in providing "Complete Housing Solutions" to individuals and corporate clients. The company is one of the largest Serviced apartments firms in Kuwait boasting an impressive array of properties all across Kuwait. The company’s residential management portfolio covers all areas of Kuwait.
 
Founded in 2016 in NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh, PLACIO provides housing solutions to students with customized services to experience modern and secured concept of co-living. PLACIO offers modern spaces, fully-furnished rooms, private rooms, personal apartments, food, 24x7 emergency line, guard on duty, security, parents’ help-line, air-conditioning, unlimited Wi-Fi, laundry services, Café, Gym and medical care. PLACIO properties are located at best localities in and around university campuses with trailblazing amenities.

PLACIO is incubated by Amity Business Incubator, NOIDA and received $2 million funding from Singapore based Private Equity firm, Prestellar Ventures and Chicago based Shikora Investment. Placio currently manages 3000+ Beds having presence in Delhi, NOIDA, Greater NOIDA, Lucknow and Indore.

PLACIO is eying big opportunity as Management Company and forging partnerships with Universities, Higher Education Institutions and corporates for Operations and Management of its Student Hostels and Co Living properties. For the year 2019-20 it is expanding to cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Kota.

PLACIO is founded by Rohit Pateria who is a Chartered Accountant with over 18 Year of Corporate working Experience. He had taken plunge to start entrepreneur journey in 2016.

Co-Living Brand Zolo forays into the Student Accommodation Space

Zolo, the co-living brand in India, introduces Zolo Scholar, which marks its foray into the student accommodation segment. Zolo Scholar is a new category of properties specifically designed for students with added features like extra security, common study areas and better services and amenities.

The development comes within a month after Zolo had raised $30 million in a Series B funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners and IDFC Alternatives, along with participation from Mirae Asset, a South Korea-based independent financial services group.

Zolo
already has a two-pronged model, Zolo Standard and Zolo Select to cater
to different needs of the working class. With this addition, the
company plans to capture the student sector. Currently, the Scholar
model is set across 2 cities viz. Kota and Bangalore. Zolo has 3
properties with a capacity of 400 beds, and 7 properties with a capacity
of 522 beds in Bangalore and Kota respectively.

Nikhil Sikri, Co-Founder & CEO of Zolo, commented, “We
believe student housing is a largely untapped market. Students
constitute a big chunk of our customer base and we see a lot of growth
potential in that segment. With the addition of this category, we aim to
provide affordable solutions to the housing problems of all the
sections of the society.”

Founded in 2015 with the aim to redefine the living experience in India, Zolo offers fully managed and affordable, ready to move in rooms/apartments, which offer clean spaces, homely food and caring staff. It’s a full stack brand and a platform which takes accountability of the entire customer experience. Zolo’s tech platform provides the customer, a button to manage “Life” on the phone.

Earlier this month, the company announced its entry into the Mumbai market. With a strong presence in 9 cities Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Gurgaon, Kota, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Noida and Coimbatore, the company manages 175 properties with over 17K beds across the country.

In student accommodation space, Sequoia India-backed Stanza Living is perhaps the most funded startup, which has managed to raise funds from high-profile investors including Matrix India, Accel Partners and

Last month, Stanza Living launched Stanza Estate app, as part of its growth strategy to reach one lakh bed-capacity by 2021. The app will allow property owners, brokers, real estate consultants and developers, to partner with Stanza Living in an effective manner, to create bespoke, high-quality student accommodations.

Co-Living Startup Grexter Raises $1.5 Mn Funding from Venture Catalysts

Soon within a week after co-living startup Zolo had raised $30 million from Nexus Venture Partners and IDFC Alternatives, an another Bengaluru-based and also a co-living startup, Grexter has secured $1.5 million in pre-series A funding from Venture Catalysts.

The other investors who also contributed to the funding include Arisht Jain of Samyakth Group, Vikas Bohra and Vishal Shah, in addition to the participation from developers, HNIs, real estate professionals, family offices, private equity funds, wealth management companies, and others.

The startup will use the funds raised in expanding the number of rooms and beds it offers at a pan-India level also towards ramping up its tech backbone.

Founded in 2016, by Pratul Gupta and Nikhil Dosi, Grexter is a rental accommodation platform aimed at students and young professionals, helping people looking for contemporary living solutions that cater to their lifestyle preferences and enable them to co-live with other like-minded individuals. Grexit currently has 1500 beds in Bengaluru.

Pratul Gupta, Founder, Grexter said, “Having bootstrapped the venture, we’ve climbed our way up firefighting and understanding every use case scenario possible. We are confident that with the mentorship and the influx of funds from Venture Catalysts we’d be able to accelerate the growth of Grexter and invigorate our tech platform as well. We envision to scale up rapidly and accommodate over 5000 beds by the end of 2019.”

Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, President, Venture Catalysts, said, “Venture Catalysts is on a mission to identify promising ventures that actually plug a gap in the market and address pertinent consumer needs. The rental accommodation sphere caters to one of the most basic needs of consumers, yet it continues to be highly fragmented and plagued with key problems pertaining to quality, transparency and high brokerage fees. Grexter eliminates all these lacunae with its unique and tech-driven business model. It is also creating a robust co-living ecosystem in India and we are certain that it will successfully capture a lion’s share of the USD 20 billion accommodation rental market through its innovative approach."

India’s first integrated incubator, Venture Catalysts invests $250K – $1 Million in early stage startups. Last month, it has invested an undisclosed amount of funds in Flip Flop Hub, India’s leading specialty retail chain of flip flops and sandals in the mid-market space.

Prior to this, in November Venture Catalysts led ₹3.5 crore funding of CleanseCar, a Bangalore-based daily car and bike cleaning service at doorstep via an app.

Source - ET Tech

[Top Image - Facebook.com/Grexter]

Co-Living Startup Zolo Raises $30 Mn from Nexus Venture and IDFC Alternatives

Bangalore-based Zolo, which offers managed co-living spaces to students and professionals, has raised $30 million (~ ₹208 crore) in a Series B funding round led by existing investor Nexus Venture Partners and IDFC Alternatives, along with participation from Mirae Asset, a South Korea-based independent financial services group.

The startup will use the raised capital in expanding its footprint across the metro cities.

With this fresh funding, the valuation of Zolo is estimated to ramped up by more than $100 million.

Founded in 2015, by Akhil Sikri, Isha Choudhry, Nikhil Sikri and Sneha Choudhry, Zolo is a marketplace for property solutions like paying guest accommodation, service apartments and independent flats. The startup currently operates in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Kota and has tied up with numerous building owners and large developers for its expansion plan.

So far, Zolo has raised a total of $35 million in funding over two rounds. Prior to this, the startup had raised $5 million from Nexus Venture Partners, in January 2017.

ZoloStays will also focus on automation and rely on IoT (Internet of Things) for smart electricity and water billing in its properties. “We also look to build a stronger community through our online and offline initiatives through gamification. Customisation is another key area where we now want to focus,” said Nikhil Sikri, Zolo's co-founder.

ZoloStays, which competes with similar players like NestAway, Stanza Living, Stay Abode and Coho Dorms, claims to be India's largest company offering fully managed co-living spaces with 16,000 live beds and 50,000 locked-in beds under its two offerings -- Zolo Standard and Zolo Select.

The company claims that it has grown twelve fold since then and plans to clock 10 times growth in the next two years. It plans to boost its current staff strength of 350 people by hiring another 200-300 by the end of 2019.

The company's revenue from operations stood at Rs 27 crore for FY18 while it incurred a loss of Rs 4 crore, said Sikri to Economic Times. He added that the startup plans to clock Rs 100 crore in revenue for the next financial year.

In recent funding of co-living startups, Delhi-based Placio had raised $2 million in pre-series-A funding from Prestellar Ventures, a Singapore-based private equity

In August last year, StayAbode had raised an undisclosed amount from Anupam Mittal (CEO, People Group) and Vineet Sekhsaria (Head, Real Estate investing, Morgan Stanley) and Japanese gaming company Akatsuki Inc, in August last year.

This was followed by $10 million fund raise by Delhi headquartered Stanza Living, which was led by Sequoia India.

Student Co-living Startup Stanza Living Raises $10 Mn in Funding led by Sequoia India

Delhi headquartered Stanza Living, a tech-enabled co-living concept startup which is re-imagining student housing in India, has raised a total of Rs 73 crore (USD 10 million) in an investment round led by Sequoia India. This is in addition to Rs 13 crores (USD 2 million) that the company had raised in its first round of institutional funding from Matrix and Accel Partners in November 2017.

With the funding in place, Stanza Living will focus on strengthening its three key business pillars of technology, people and network of operations. The startup is also aiming to strengthen its position as one of India’s largest student co-living companies.

Technology is at the centre of Stanza Living’s business and is one of its core differentiators. The fresh funding will be channelled to bolster the company’s tech engine that drives effectiveness in project management, efficiency in business operations and enables personalised service delivery. Stanza Living will further leverage the funding to expand to multiple markets and strengthen its core leadership team while onboarding specialised talent across functions.

Commenting on the funding, Anindya Dutta, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Stanza Living, said, “The student housing segment in India offers immense potential but remains largely unorganised. We are determined to transform this segment by offering a professionally-managed co-living experience that mirror international standards. We currently operate 15+ residences in Delhi NCR with a total capacity of 2000 beds. The funding will enable us to unlock multiple opportunities that we’ve identified across important educational hubs and exponentially grow the Stanza community across the country.”

“Marquee global players investing in Stanza Living underlines the confidence the investor community has in our business model,” said Sandeep Dalmia, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Stanza Living.

“We understand that a student’s lifestyle is extremely distinct. Our industry-first, full-stack business model fundamentally enables us to design our co-living spaces and tailor our services to cater to their specific needs and desires. It allows us to set up and manage end-to-end operations which we believe is absolutely critical to ensure an unmatched experience for our residents,” he added.

“Stanza’s team and their execution is impressive, and Sequoia India is delighted to partner with them in their vision to provide quality housing to students in India. Student housing is an established asset class in the west and we believe Stanza, with its scalable business model and strong economics, can create the asset class in India”, said Ashish Agrawal, Principal, Sequoia Capital India Advisors.

Gourav Bhattacharya, Director, Matrix India, commented “We are very excited about the progress the Stanza team has made over the last 12 months, and think they have a unique opportunity to create a large company by organizing the student housing space. Their approach is a win-win for students and parents through better experience, as well as supply owners through better economics. We are delighted to continue supporting Anindya and Sandeep on their journey."

Abhinav Chaturvedi, Principal at Accel added, "We are delighted to continue our partnership with Stanza Living. In a short period of time, Stanza has become the go-to place for student accommodation in Delhi/NCR. The new money will help expand the Stanza brand to other parts of the Indian market."

Stanza Living is challenging the status quo when it comes to student community living through dedicated programmes like ‘Stanza Springboard’, which focuses on providing career enhancement opportunities, and ‘Stanza Social’, centred around year-long community engagement events as well as exclusive discounted access to a curated list of restaurants, brands and experiences.

In July this year, StayAbode, an another co-living spaces startup, had raised funding for an undisclosed amount from Anupam Mittal (CEO, People Group) and Vineet Sekhsaria (Head, Real Estate investing, Morgan Stanley) and Japanese gaming company Akatsuki Inc.

Last November, Stanza Living had raised ₹13 Crore in its first round of institutional funding via Matrix Partners and Accel Partners.

Stanza Living was co-founded by Sandeep Dalmia and Anindya Dutta in 2017. Dalmia is an alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering and IIM Ahmedabad. Prior to Stanza, he was a Principal at Boston Consulting Group. Dutta was previously a Real Estate investor with Oaktree Capital and prior to that, he worked at Goldman Sachs In London. He is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Ahmedabad.

Stanza Living is a tech-enabled co-living concept which is re-imagining student housing in India by transforming it into an experience product, in-line with evolved hospitality sectors like hotels and serviced apartments. From smart-space planning in residences to gamifying delivery of food for operational effectiveness, from exclusive community engagement programmes to delivering reliable and standardized services through technology integration, Stanza Living operates with a full-stack business model that puts students at the heart of its product and service design, development and execution. The company currently operates in Delhi-NCR and plans to expand its presence across multiple student markets in the country in the coming months.

In India, Stanza Living competes with Delhi-based Placio, StayAbode, StudentAcco and also Zolo, which caters to PG segment. Placio had raised $2 million in pre-series-A funding from Prestellar Ventures, a Singapore-based private equity, while Zolo had raised $5 million from Nexus Venture Partners, in January 2017.

[Top Image - (L-R) Sandeep Dalmia and Anindya Dutta, Co-Founders, Stanza Living]

Student Co-living Startup Stanza Living Raises $10 Mn in Funding led by Sequoia India

Delhi headquartered Stanza Living, a tech-enabled co-living concept startup which is re-imagining student housing in India, has raised a total of Rs 73 crore (USD 10 million) in an investment round led by Sequoia India. This is in addition to Rs 13 crores (USD 2 million) that the company had raised in its first round of institutional funding from Matrix and Accel Partners in November 2017.

With the funding in place, Stanza Living will focus on strengthening its three key business pillars of technology, people and network of operations. The startup is also aiming to strengthen its position as one of India’s largest student co-living companies.

Technology is at the centre of Stanza Living’s business and is one of its core differentiators. The fresh funding will be channelled to bolster the company’s tech engine that drives effectiveness in project management, efficiency in business operations and enables personalised service delivery. Stanza Living will further leverage the funding to expand to multiple markets and strengthen its core leadership team while onboarding specialised talent across functions.

Commenting on the funding, Anindya Dutta, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Stanza Living, said, “The student housing segment in India offers immense potential but remains largely unorganised. We are determined to transform this segment by offering a professionally-managed co-living experience that mirror international standards. We currently operate 15+ residences in Delhi NCR with a total capacity of 2000 beds. The funding will enable us to unlock multiple opportunities that we’ve identified across important educational hubs and exponentially grow the Stanza community across the country.”

“Marquee global players investing in Stanza Living underlines the confidence the investor community has in our business model,” said Sandeep Dalmia, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Stanza Living.

“We understand that a student’s lifestyle is extremely distinct. Our industry-first, full-stack business model fundamentally enables us to design our co-living spaces and tailor our services to cater to their specific needs and desires. It allows us to set up and manage end-to-end operations which we believe is absolutely critical to ensure an unmatched experience for our residents,” he added.

“Stanza’s team and their execution is impressive, and Sequoia India is delighted to partner with them in their vision to provide quality housing to students in India. Student housing is an established asset class in the west and we believe Stanza, with its scalable business model and strong economics, can create the asset class in India”, said Ashish Agrawal, Principal, Sequoia Capital India Advisors.

Gourav Bhattacharya, Director, Matrix India, commented “We are very excited about the progress the Stanza team has made over the last 12 months, and think they have a unique opportunity to create a large company by organizing the student housing space. Their approach is a win-win for students and parents through better experience, as well as supply owners through better economics. We are delighted to continue supporting Anindya and Sandeep on their journey."

Abhinav Chaturvedi, Principal at Accel added, "We are delighted to continue our partnership with Stanza Living. In a short period of time, Stanza has become the go-to place for student accommodation in Delhi/NCR. The new money will help expand the Stanza brand to other parts of the Indian market."

Stanza Living is challenging the status quo when it comes to student community living through dedicated programmes like ‘Stanza Springboard’, which focuses on providing career enhancement opportunities, and ‘Stanza Social’, centred around year-long community engagement events as well as exclusive discounted access to a curated list of restaurants, brands and experiences.

In July this year, StayAbode, an another co-living spaces startup, had raised funding for an undisclosed amount from Anupam Mittal (CEO, People Group) and Vineet Sekhsaria (Head, Real Estate investing, Morgan Stanley) and Japanese gaming company Akatsuki Inc.

Last November, Stanza Living had raised ₹13 Crore in its first round of institutional funding via Matrix Partners and Accel Partners.

Stanza Living was co-founded by Sandeep Dalmia and Anindya Dutta in 2017. Dalmia is an alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering and IIM Ahmedabad. Prior to Stanza, he was a Principal at Boston Consulting Group. Dutta was previously a Real Estate investor with Oaktree Capital and prior to that, he worked at Goldman Sachs In London. He is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and IIM Ahmedabad.

Stanza Living is a tech-enabled co-living concept which is re-imagining student housing in India by transforming it into an experience product, in-line with evolved hospitality sectors like hotels and serviced apartments. From smart-space planning in residences to gamifying delivery of food for operational effectiveness, from exclusive community engagement programmes to delivering reliable and standardized services through technology integration, Stanza Living operates with a full-stack business model that puts students at the heart of its product and service design, development and execution. The company currently operates in Delhi-NCR and plans to expand its presence across multiple student markets in the country in the coming months.

In India, Stanza Living competes with Delhi-based Placio, StayAbode, StudentAcco and also Zolo, which caters to PG segment. Placio had raised $2 million in pre-series-A funding from Prestellar Ventures, a Singapore-based private equity, while Zolo had raised $5 million from Nexus Venture Partners, in January 2017.

[Top Image - (L-R) Sandeep Dalmia and Anindya Dutta, Co-Founders, Stanza Living]

Co-Living Spaces Startup StayAbode Files Provisional Patent for Its Workforce Management System

Bengaluru-based co-living spaces startup StayAbode, is using technology to up the standards for offering best-in-class service in co-living spaces to its customers. The company has filed for a provisional patent for its Workforce Management System that uses internal positioning systems which will allow them to efficiently manage their service teams including security and housekeeping. StayAbode is using design, technology, service and brand to reinvent the way rental residential real-estate is looked at.

Founded in 2016 by Viral Chhajer, Varun Bhalla and Devashish Dalmiya, StayAbode has built a technology to manage their workforce, starting with a mobile app for their housekeeping team. This technology helps them increase workforce efficiency by 30-40%, constantly improving the quality of service and helping in on-boarding and training staff quicker as the company grows.

The new Workforce Management System will enable dynamic task allocation which will help provide housekeeping on demand and also cover use cases such as managing housekeeping tasks in case of an unoccupied room, etc. It will give a real-time, bird's-eye view of housekeeping activities at all of their properties which together with data gathered by their audit team and resident feedback will help them make real time quality assessments and improve services.

Varun Bhalla, Co- founder and CTO, StayAbode says, “Our endeavour is to develop and use technology to better industry service standards. We have filed for a provisional patent for our Workforce Management System that will help greater efficiency in managing service for our customers.”

StayAbode’s co-living spaces is building the future of residential real estate for the urban millennials. StayAbode’s co-living spaces supports the lifestyle of the young, single sociable household, enabling a high level of comfort, convenience and a sense of community with shared spaces such as kitchens, common areas, game areas, music, art corners and places to dine and work. StayAbode has properties where utility bills are paid, linen washed and where one cooks at leisure. It provides its tenants an experience of living in a boutique hotel with a community of like-minded individuals. StayAbode uses real-estate efficiently giving property owners up to 100% higher yield on their properties.

The company raised angel funding in February this year from a consortium of investors led by Ishan Manaktala (COO of CoreOne Technologies) and Angie Mahtaney (CEO at K Mohan Exports). Gaurav Bhalotia (Ex-VP Engineering, Flipkart), Vishal Lulla (CEO, Vishal Exports) and a group of Investors from Lets Venture also participated in the round.