Tiger Global-backed home rental startup NestAway Technologies is in talks with a slew of prominent Chinese investors, including diversified conglomerate Fosun, to invest in its next $100 million funding round, said two people familiar with the matter on the condition of anonymity.
Mint first reported on 19 November that NestAway is in talks to raise $100 million. It last raised $51 million in March last year, in a Series D round led by Goldman Sachs and a joint fund between Ratan Tata and the University of California, called the UC-RNT Fund.
Prior to that, it had raised $30 million in 2016 led by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner and hedge fund Tiger Global Management. Homegrown VC fund Chiratae Ventures and Sujeet Kumar, founder of B2B online marketplace Udaan, are its other investors.
NestAway’s fundraising efforts come at a time when competition in India’s co-living sector is heating up. The country’s largest hospitality startup Oyo Rooms, which has amassed a war chest of nearly a billion dollars, announcing the launch of Oyo Living, its housing rental arm, which aims to expand to the top 10 metros by the end of 2019 and offer more than 50,000 beds.
“If Fosun participates, it will be via its Chinese fund, not the Indian arm,” said one of the persons mentioned above. “Fosun India traditionally takes more early stage bets, around Series A or B and NestAway is very clearly a mature startup,” the person said.
Fosun RZ Capital, Fosun’s venture capital arm, has selectively backed Indian startups, including consumer credit startup Kissht and travel booking enabler Ixigo.
Shunwei Capital, the venture capital firm started by smartphone maker Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun and Tuck Lye Koh, is another Chinese investor that has shown interest in participating in this round, said the second person mentioned above. Other major Chinese investors are also said to be interested in the transaction, the person said.
Chinese investors with deep pockets could benefit NestAway, which will look to expand to more cities to compete with a fast-scaling Oyo Living, as well as fellow home rental startup Zolo Stays, which raised $30 million in January from IDFC Alternatives, Mirae Global Asset Management, and Nexus Venture Partners.
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