Bengaluru, 8 July 2020: Zolostays (“Zolo”), the leading tech-enabled managed provider of managed living services in India, today announced a new $56 million Series C fundraise led by Investcorp, Nexus Ventures Partners, Mirae Assets, Trifecta Capital among others. The funding round brings Zolo to $90 million raised in total.
Zolo develops and operates innovative, digitalized living concepts for target groups with differentiated needs. Today, 40,000 people can reside in properties by Zolo. Over 125,000 people have experienced Zolo homes and the vibrant community ‘Zotribe’ in the past five years. The company has tracked strong growth over the past years and plans to sustain that trajectory to reach 1 million people in the next 5 years. Zolo will deploy the new funds to invest in technology, locking in more inventory and strengthening AI-driven operating platforms.
Most of the residents at Zolo are young professionals and students, who are moving to a new city. In these uncertain times, it is a challenge for people to make long term commitments, provide large deposits and buy expensive furniture. The company offers flexibility between shared rooms and private rooms, no lock-ins, with only one month of rent as a deposit.
Speaking on the fundraise and Zolo’ mission, Co-founder and CEO Dr. Nikhil Sikri said, “We are creating a personalized living experience keeping the customer at the core. It allows them to personalize the way they live and work, all on their terms. We partner with them as they rewrite their own story and re-imagine life. Our unique approach allows us to enjoy the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS)- a benchmark indicator of customer satisfaction in the industry.”
Gaurav Sharma from Investcorp said, “We have always been excited about managed living as an asset class as it aligns to our thesis to capitalize on the megatrend of urban migration. Zolo has created a trusted and reputed brand with its continuous innovation in building products for hassle-free living, an obsession of quality and laser-sharp focus on customer experience. There is a strong conviction among the investors that the company has pioneered a unique model that is highly profitable and scalable. Zolo’ product offerings are at par with major tech-driven disruption in living globally as managed living is all set to be a massive consumer mega-trend in the next decade.”
Today, there are over 500 Zolos spread across ten cities and another 500 Zolos planned to start operations to absorb future demand. The company intends to invest the new funds to continue aggressive growth across the country. Another key avenue of growth is partnering with developers in conceptualizing ‘built to suit’ co-living spaces. Large developers have partnered with Zolo to provide beautiful and exclusive co-living campuses to people near their workplace. Zolo has more than 5 million square feet worth of ‘built to suit’ discussions underway.
Zolo is soon launching a uber-premium brand extension called Zolo Red Carpet. These micro-living spaces will provide an elite experience which will include wellness studios, all-day in-house cafes, workspaces, exquisite decor, and concierge services.
Sameer Brij Verma from Nexus added, “We have backed the company in each round since inception. With scale, Zolo’ value proposition to both the customer and the asset owner would substantially increase due to the network effect – thus allowing Zolo to win a disproportionate share of the $20Bn managed living services market.”
About Zolo:
Founded in 2015, by Nikhil Sikri, Akhil Sikri and Sneha Choudhry, Zolo is making strong headway into managed living for students and professionals. The category leader currently offers two kinds of models – Zolo Standard and Zolo Select across all its 485+ properties in 10+ cities. Zolo offerings are fun, flexible and functional which ensure a comfortable stay and plenty of activities for its residents to form stronger bonds as a community. Zolo conducts over 200+ community activities every month across all their properties. These shared community experiences are what makes co-living fun and engaging for millennials.
